You Name It
by Jayjaylemony
Summary: Izumi wishes her magic away, because of the trouble it brought her. But she has to pay the price: her name. As she travels with the group, she discovers many secrets about the name she lost, and about who she really is. FaixOC
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclamer: I do NOT own ANY of the Tsubasa Chronicles. None, as in ZIP, ZERO, NADA. I am putting this up because one of my earlier stories was just reported, and I am very, VERY sad. I do, however, own my character. Thanks for understanding!**_

_Hello, everybody! I have just finished reading the Tsubasa Chronicles, and I thought that it was fantastic! This is the intro for my first Tsubasa story, and I hope that you like it. As you may have been able to tell, this is from a new character's point of view. The story of this is basically the same as in the book, only my character travels along with Syaoran, Kurogane, Sakura, and Fai. There is some relationship between my character and Fai. Read the next chapter when it comes out to find out my character's name!_~ Sakura Yakuza(author)

Humans see. They can't help it. It is the way they are made. There are things they can see, things they are meant to see, like trees and plants and rivers and clouds. But like these, there are things they are not meant to see, things beyond imagination. Few humans have managed to find these things, but when trying to prove it to the rest of the world, were laughed at. Such people do not exist in this world.

On the contrary, there are worlds where these people _do_ live. They are not outcasts in these worlds. These people are accepted, and become one with the crowd. Maybe they are even looked up to. Just by knowing that they can see these things, others know that these people have given up to the forces of nature and magic. They have given up a part of themselves, devoted a portion of their lives to practicing this ability. They have left the rest of the world behind.

But these people are not born with their abilities. Before they are exposed to magic, they are, quite simply, just typical people who lead typical lives. These people have paid attention to the world; have truly seen the world as it is. They know that they are different, and they know it is their duty to protect the magical world.

I am not one of these people.

Who am I?

I am not one who sees the wind. I _am_ the wind. I am not one who sees true color, because I _am_ true color. I am not a human who see things for what they really are, and I have not devoted my life to magic. Why?

Because I am not human.

I am a magical guardian, just like those few humans, but, unlike them I am magical myself. I am not respected, however, when I do meet humans. I am feared by them, shunned by them and beaten by them. I am what many humans know as bad luck, for I can stir up terrible events in a human's life. I can kill a man's family by saying one word, make a year's supply of crops wither and die. I am powerful.

But I don't want to be.

I have tried my whole life to get respect, to be treated like anyone else, but I am nothing but a bad omen. People see me, and think, _She'll kill me with a snap of her fingers._ I would never do anything of the sort. I have murdered people, true, but I was young and foolish, letting my dark powers control the good side of me. I have changed, but I have earned myself a bad reputation. I have tried to do good deeds, to make people realize that I am not as bad as they think I am, but to no avail. And that is why I must leave this power behind; even if it means never seeing my family or the world I love again.


	2. Feathers

_Hi! I'd like to congratulate you all on making it through my first chapter alive! Hope you enjoyed it. I personally don't think this one is that great myself, so please NO FLAMES. Just little bits of feedback will be superb! Thanks to those of you who reviewed the first chapter. I'll be getting back to you shortly, as I love to respond to my reviewers! ~Sakura Yakuza(author)_

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When I was young, I was very well loved and admired. My family and I lived in a small town in China, and life seemed so simple and easy. I had every luxury that anyone could imagine: china dolls, portraits of myself, silk clothing, everything. But when I look back at these times, I do not wish I were young again. In fact, quite the opposite. I feel grateful I am out of those times. Even though I was popular and wealthy, there was one thing I wanted most, and that was to uncover the pieces of my past. I had always known that there was a dark, foreboding secret hidden from me by my parents, but no amount of knowledge could prepare me enough for what that secret was.

I can only remember so much of my life. I can see shadows of people, figures and outlines, but never a real, tangible object that I can love. I cannot remember anything that happened before the age of five. I have never worried about this, however, and I did my best to lead a normal life. My parents were ever so supportive of me, and I was spoiled beyond belief. But one night, I overheard my parents talking after they thought I was asleep. My mother had said, "When are we to tell her the truth?" And my father replied with a voice that made me shiver, "All in due time, my love. She will know, whether we be the ones to tell her or not."

From that day forth, my mind was controlled by terrible thoughts. _What if they don't love me? What are they hiding from me? How come they won't tell the truth?_ I was haunted by these thoughts, and I couldn't take it anymore. On the night of a full moon, I climbed out my bedroom window in an attempt to escape these feelings. I tripped many times in the dark, leaving my clothing tattered and my arms bruised and bloody. The forest was so dense, that hardly any light crept through the thick foliage.

When I came to a clearing, the light of the moon beat down on the earth like rain, pelting the ground in a concentrated, beautiful beam of light. I had never seen anything of the sort ever before in the span of my life. My eyes were glued to this magical vista, and, in my trance like state, I swayed and fell to the floor in the middle of the clearing, staring up at the dazzling light. It was a miraculous moment, cleansing my body of all the emotional scars that sharp, hurtful thoughts left in my heart. It was at that moment that I felt one with the world, a very simple life form, battling with others in the survival of the fittest. I felt so primitive, and yet, I felt so much energy pulsing through my veins and awakening my heart from an unconscious state. I found myself standing, though I didn't remember getting on my feet. My heart and mind were one, and my body was only the form that my soul chose to take, light as a feather, dancing in the evening breeze. The energy was still building, and I could no longer feel the earth beneath my feet. I glanced downwards, and found that I was in the air, ascending at an incredibly fast pace, towards the moon. I felt so free, as if the ground only served as a limit to my abilities. It had been holding me hostage for all these years, and now, I was free of its heavy shackles. Gravity was no match for me.

At the height of my glory, however, I saw a little person, tiny from the altitude at which I was. It was tearing through the woods, shoving plants aside. It seemed to get bigger, and only then did I notice that I was falling to the earth once more. I saw that the person was my mother, who had come looking for me. I about five feet above the ground, and that was where I would stay, for I concentrated as hard as I could on floating. However, it no longer gave me that feeling of freedom as it had earlier, but instead thrust weariness upon me. My mother shouted, "Hua!" My focus shattered into a million pieces, and I fell to the floor with a sickening thud. Consciousness slipped just out of my reach, and I was greeted by a heavy sleep.

I did not have any dreams in this sleep, but I did, however, revisit some memories lost. In the two days I slept, I discovered that I was living with foster parents, and that I was really an orphan without them. My true parents had died in a battle against a terrible magician, Fei Wong Reed, hiding me away in a clearing in the middle of the woods on the night of a full moon. My memories had flowed back in my mind in such vibrant detail, and it was all so overwhelming. Towards the end of my sleep, I saw in my mind the faces of a young boy with a determined heart, an innocent young girl who was about to die, a tall, clever magician with a secret past, and a ninja who served under the power of a mysterious princess. I was sure that they were not a part of my memories, but then again, I couldn't be sure. Just moments before I woke up, I saw the characters of my name vanishing before my very eyes.

When I awoke, I was still in the middle of the clearing. Had my mother left me to die? I sat up, and found that it was hard to keep my facts straight, as I was dizzy enough to fall back asleep. I let myself curl back up on the floor, but found that there was no possible way that I could sleep, for the sleeping conditions were harsh. I rose to my feet, and, in a daze, walked back home. I jiggled the knob of the front door, and found that it was easily opened. When I walked into the kitchen, my mother looked up from sweeping the floors, and looked so stunned for a moment, that I thought that she was unhappy to see me.

Apparently, she was, hence the fact that she yelled, "Hua! No! I thought you were dead! Leave now!" I opened my mouth to speak, but before words tumbled out of my mouth, an explosion of noise occurred. Smoke was everywhere, and I coughed, fanning it away. When it cleared, I saw my mother lying on the floor, a bullet through her head. I looked up, searching for the gun that killed my mother, and found my father in the corner of the room, pistol in hand, teetering on the edge of hysteria. When I looked into his eyes, I saw not the eyes of the loving father who raised me, but the eyes of a maniac, wild with ire and bewilderment.

I glanced back and forth, from my deceased mother to my madman of a father, not knowing how to respond to his sudden, unexpected action. I wasn't sure of whether or not I should feel depressed or relieved, so I avoided feeling either of them. When I had collected my thoughts, I stuttered, "D-Dad? Why did you shoot mother?"

The wild look in his eyes left, and his eyes followed where his gun was pointing; straight at mother. He put his hand over his heart, dropping the gun to the floor with a clatter, and fell back against the wall. He began hyperventilating, and soon, sobbing. I crossed the room to where he stood, and put a hand on his shoulder. He slapped my hand away from him, and took a step back. He pointed a trembling finger at me. "Stay away! It's true… It's true!" I took a step back.

"What's true?"

"Y-you are bad luck! You were always meant to be. Your powers have been activated, and now you are here to destroy us all!" He yelled, picking up the gun and pointing it at my chest. I raised my arms above my head. "Stay away, and don't ever come back, do you hear me?"

"Yes, if that is what you wish, father." I sprinted out the door and left the house, never to return.

After six years of killing and trying to make up for the murders I committed, I finally decided to leave this world, and uttered the words, "林華" to the sky, not quite sure of what I was doing. It seemed as though the words came to me, in a dream, calling out to me, like I was destined for them. I said them as a last resort, and a portal opened up in the same clearing in which I had activated my "powers."

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That was how I ended up flying through space and time, past different worlds, wandering aimlessly through the vast universe. It made me noxious, seeing all the colors zip by me, disappearing in different time zones and dimensions.

_What was that? _Something caught my eye. It flew along side me, and I reached out to grab hold of it. When I had it in my hand, I saw it was a feather, beautiful and delicate. I could feel strong power resonating deep within its heart, and longed to keep it in my possession. But it was because of this strong power that I knew it could not belong to me, and I released, it, letting it fly on its own. When I looked back, however, I knew that I had not seen the last of the feathers, for there were hundreds of them, disappearing into separate time zones and places. Whoever was looking for them was in big trouble.

But then again, so was I.


	3. Wish Wash

Hiya peoples! This chapter draws from the book, but of course I had to shorten some parts. We have an interesting story to get to! I'm not about to go about explaining every detail of the book.

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I'm super sorry for not updating sooner, but you know, school. Ugh! Well, Here it is!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Tsubasa or any of its characters, other than my own. Any resemblance to characters in other books or real people is absolutely coincidental. I do use lines from the book, but I DO NOT OWN THEM.

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I could hear laughter. Not a straight out, lean-your-head-back-and-laugh kind of laugh, but a faint chuckle. I tried to sit up, but I found that my limbs were numb from impact, and if I tried to sit, my spine would wiggle like jello, and I would drop to the floor. No use trying again. A female's voice sort of floated in and out of my ears, but the words were inaudible. Whatever hit me must have hit me hard, because the last time I felt like this was when I fell off a building two summers ago, in an attempt to escape a mob of angry villagers.

The first thing I could _actually_ hear was a thud, as though something had fallen. No, whatever had dropped had fallen on its feet, because I could hear it fall to its knees. The voice of this thing was so aggressive that I almost bolted upright, but the only thing that kept me stapled to the floor was the thought of turning into jello again. "Are you the Space Time Witch?" He yelled, his voice overflowing with anxiety.

The silvery voice of the woman who laughed earlier replied in a calm tone, "I have been called that." It almost made _me_ chuckle, hearing such contrast in their voices.

"Would you please…" He dropped off, and started over, getting straight to the point this time. "I need you to save Sakura!"

I opened my eyes, and rolled on my side to get a better view of whatever they were doing. My vision was slightly blurred, but I could just barely make out the figures. There before me was a tall, beautiful lady, a witch, by the looks of her clothing. She was knelt down beside a young boy, his eyes wild with anger and something else that I cannot name. I saw in his arms a delicate girl, unconscious.

When my vision cleared up, I looked again at the faces of these strangers, and found that the boy and the girl were the two faces I had seen in my head. The girl was definitely just as frail and helpless as I remembered her to be, and, for a moment, I felt a strong urge to reach out to her and hold her. But I knew that I could never do that. No touching anyone. Just being in a person's presence can cause them trouble for years. The witch put a loving hand on the boy's shoulder, and asked, "This child's name is Sakura, isn't it?"

The boy replied, "Yes!" His voice was impatient and anxious. It was clear to me that this girl would die very soon, if nothing was done.

The witch turned to the boy himself, and asked, "And you?" The boy replied with a terse, "I'm Syaoran."

She lightly stroked the fragile girl's face, and thought for a moment. Without taking her eyes off of the girl's face, she whispered, "This child has lost something very precious."

The boy nodded fiercely, obviously growing edgy with impatience. "Yes."

The woman nodded once more, and sighed, "And, that something has been scattered to many different worlds." The she looked up at the boy, to make sure he was following her. "If nothing is done, this child will die." She stated. Harsh. To say something like that to this Syaoran in his time of weakness only crumbled a bit of hope from his heart. But it was all so true. I watched in sympathy as Syaoran held Sakura closer to him in pain.

The witch turned around to check on me, and saw that I was awake. "Oh! I see you are awake." She said. I sat up with much ease, and glanced around my surroundings.

I wanted to keep my act convincing, so I rubbed my eyes sleepily and groaned, "Wh-Where am I?" She took my hand and helped me to my feet.

A timid looking boy walked out of a little shop I had not noticed before. The witch called to him, "Watanuki?"

"Y-Yes?" He stammered.

"Go to our treasure room; there is something I need you to bring back." She turned back to Syaoran. "You wish to save this child?" She asked, the expression on her face never-changing.

"YES!!!" Syaoran yelled determinedly.

I thought I saw the witch smile for a moment, but it instantly faded away. "There is a price…" She paused, watching for a reaction from Syaoran, who remained solemn. "Are you still willing?"

"I will pay whatever price I can!" He said.

At that moment, I felt something strong. It was a magic so powerful that it nearly knocked me over. But even though it was hard to tell, I was sure that it was the same magic as the magic in the feather I had held earlier. Yuko smiled now, the first that even came close to a genuine smile. "Here they come."

At that instant, two blobs seemed to appear. One globbed up out of the ground, while the other swirled from the sky. Syaoran was sandwiched in the middle of them, and I giggled at the look of shock that had plastered his face. But as suddenly as they came, the blobs were gone, leaving two people in their places. I stood close to one of them, but took a step backwards at the sight of them. One was tall, relatively spiky haired, and black-clad. He wore a band around his head with a moon, and in his right arm he carried a long, sharp blade, that look similar to the ones in antique stores or history books. I thought it looked an awful lot like a Katana, but then again, weren't those only used by samurai?

The other man was not quite so tall and intimidating; he was fair haired and blue eyed, and wore what I thought was a heavy winter coat, but with strange markings on the shoulders. In his hand, he carried a staff, with a beautiful, intricate carving at the top. He stood closest to me, and from him, I could feel a great amount of magic. But what surprised me was that only _some_ of it was his own, and the rest of it was a feather's. Did he know about the feather?

The tall man growled, "Who the hell are you?" To the witch, while as the fair haired asked a polite, "Are you the dimension witch?" The two of them looked at each other, and I could see that the tall one had been through a lot, just looking at the hatred embedded deep in his eyes.

The witch said, "Please give me your names, first."

Nobody else was talking, so I chirped, "I'm Hua."

Yuko nodded, and turned to the other three. The tall one growled, "Me? I'm Kurogane…I mean…what _is_ this place?" He took a moment to stare at the tall buildings that surrounded, and let the rain plip on his cheeks.

"It's called Japan." The witch responded. For a moment, my heart froze. _Japan?_ My mind raced furiously. _How in the world did I get to Japan? Dimension switching isn't supposed to switch your whereabouts, too!_

"Eh? My country is called Japan, too." Kurogane said, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"Yes. A different Japan." She turned to the other man. "And you?" She asked.

He bowed respectfully. "The Wizard of Seresu. Fai D. Flowright. And who are you?" He asked the witch.

"My name is Yuko." She turned to the three of them. "Do you know where you are?"

Three of us shook our heads, but Fai jumped in. "Yes. A place where any wish can be granted if a suitable price is paid."

Yuko smiled. "That's exactly it. And so, the reason why you all are here, is because each of you has a wish."

The two men thought that was a signal to tell her their wishes. Kurogane growled in a frustrated tone, "My homeland is where I want to be!" Fai wore a grin on his face as he said, "My homeland is where I don't want to be!" Night and day.

"That is a tall order for both of you…" Yuko said. "No, for all 3 of you, perhaps." Syaoran's face fell. "Even if you offered the most precious things you own, none of you has enough to pay. But if all three paid together, you may _just_ be able to afford it." A slimmer of hope glistened in the depths of Syaoran's eyes, and he looked up at the sound of those words. The three of the travelers scrutinized each other. Kurogane looked at the others with a critical eye, his arms folded firmly across his chest. Fai smiled and shrugged innocently, and Syaoran was just as clueless as I.

Yuko paused, and then continued. "All three of your wishes are the same." She said, turning to Syaoran. "You want to go to many worlds in order to restore the memory of this child." To Kurogane, "You want to return to your own world." And to Fai, "You want to go to different worlds to avoid returning to your own. You all have different reasons, but the method is the same. Travel to different dimensions…that is what you need."

At this point, I had to cut in. "Excuse me," Yuko raised an eyebrow, telling me to continue. "I would like to make a wish as well." She nodded, urging me forward. "I want…I want to be free of my magical abilities."

She stopped me, "Why would you want to do that? To have magic is a gift. It is not common, and you should be grateful."

I shook my head. "You don't understand. You see, all magic has ever brought me was despair and agony. Magic separated me from my family, made them hate me." Tears popped up from an invisible spring in my eyes. Shoot. "It made me do a many terrible things. I went from being an innocent girl to a blood thirsty serial killer, who couldn't stop murdering good people."

"I see…. Go on."

"So now, my wish is to be relieved of these abilities, to be free of this curse, and to make up for all of the bad things I have ever done in my life. I wish to start a new life, somewhere else, and to earn a good reputation." I said, and wiped my tears away with the heels of my hand. It must not be every day that you see an eighteen-year-old girl cry. I looked up at Yuko. "Can you help me?"

"As a matter of fact, I can. You will have to pay a price, like all of the others, of course, but I'm sure you'll be able to handle it." I nodded. She went on, "As for the gaining your reputation back…you will have to travel with these three." She gestured to the three travelers.

"How will that help me?" I asked.

"It will help, because along the way, you will learn some skill that will be very important in your life. You will make life-lasting friendships, romances, and acquaintances. You will perform good deeds for the people you meet along the way, to help build a good reputation in the places you visit. You will also do whatever you can to protect them, and make sure they are safe, which will also strengthen the trust between you." I nodded, and Yuko smiled mysteriously. "Are you willing to devote your life to the doing of good deeds and to the protection of these travelers?"

I thought about it, and made my decision. "If I can be away from this curse," I made a small gesture to myself, "Then I will do anything."

She nodded curtly, and said, "You realize that this is not your price, and that you will have to pay something of much greater value than your time?"

"Yes, and I am prepared."

"Very good." Yuko turned back to the others. "Each of you must make a payment."

Kurogane stepped forward angrily. "Yea? Then what would MY payment be?"

"Your sword."

Kurogane was taken aback. "I'd _never_ sell away my Ginryu!" He cradled his sword in his arm as though it were his only child.

Yuko shrugged, making Kurogane boil with fury. Guilt trick. "Fine. Instead, you will wander this world looking like a costume-contest loser, and get picked up by the police for carrying an unlawful sword, and get plastered all over the TV for being a freak! Is that what you want?" Part of her charm was that she sure knew how to make one feel trapped. "You realize that you are trapped here, and I am the only person in the world who can get you out?"

"That's a lie!" Kurogane yelled.

"It's all true!" Fai piped in cheerily, and I could see the want to strangle Fai in Kurogane's eyes.

Yuko held a hand out, waiting for the sword. "What will you do?" She asked.

"Dammit!" Kurogane yelled, shoving the sword into Yuko's hands. "When I am free from this curse, I'm coming back for it!"

Yuko held the sword for a moment, but let it disappear. She turned to Fai. "You price is you marking."

Fai looked lost for a few moments, but then returned to his jolly state. "I don't suppose this staff would do instead?" He smiled, waving it in the air.

"It won't." Yuko sighed. "I told you, the price is the thing you value most."

Fai shrugged. "I guess I have no choice." I watched in horror as he removed his coat and unbuttoned his shirt. The marking on his back floated up into the air, and disappeared like the sword.

Yuko turned to me. "Hmm… Let's see, now. What should your price be?" I shrugged, but immediately felt stupid, for she had already known the answer to her own question. "Your price is your name."

My rain-soaked hair fell in my face. I flipped it over my shoulder. "My…name?" I asked, and listened to the steady beat of the rain hitting the ground. It was definitely picking up pace. The different voices in my head were making a racket, and all the clamor was making me dizzy. Yuko only gave a small nod. "So…I…I don't get it." I said stupidly. "My name." I repeated dubiously.

"Yes. Your name." She held out a waiting hand.

"How do I…give it to you? It's my name." I said cautiously.

"Easy. You see, when you give it up, your brain will automatically tell you what your new name is. You'll know all about it later." Yuko responded. Suddenly I could feel a strange feeling take over my body, like I was being possessed by some spirit. My heart thudded as quick as a rabbits for a few moments, then died down. I listened to my steady breathing become ragged, and I felt something rip from my body. I couldn't tell if it was a good feeling or a bad one. Every organ in my body stopped functioning, and everything was silent. Even the chattering voices in my head shut up.

All of a sudden, there was a blast of magic. It spouted from my mouth, straight up into the sky. It was leaving. No more sparkly, tingly feeling in my veins. It was like light, a beautiful, dazzling beam of an assortment of colors. Something floated out of it. My name. When the magic was gone, the clamor in my head started up again, only twice as loud. I could hear Yuko saying something, but it came out in a muffled whirr. Nothing but a couple of choked words. She saw that I couldn't hear her, and seemed to be shouting over the noise. No, the noise in my head was gone, that was all.

"Your price has been paid." Yuko said calmly. "Tell me what your name is."

"Wha—?" I asked. Crazy, right? I mean, didn't I just tell her my name? "Why are you asking again? I told you, it's Izumi." Something wasn't right. Normally, you can feel the magic in your own name, but there was none. What was wrong? I had been telling people my name since I could talk, and never had I ever had this blank feeling before.

Yuko smiled smugly. "Brilliant. Now, I'll have to put you out for a while, so your name gets into your system, and to make sure any doubts about it are nonexistent."

"Put me…out? But what about Syaoran's wish?"

"You'll know about that later. Stay still." I saw a bright blue orb of magic fly at my head. I wondered how I got on the ground so fast, as I felt life drain from my blood. It wasn't a good life anyways, and I smiled.

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Please Review! I promise that if you do, I'll give you a long thank you note. Those who have already know that.


	4. Child of the Dark

_Heya everyone! Ok, so I just watched this really cute movie called Whisper of the Heart, by Yoshifumi Kondo. It's based on a manga series, which I happen to love! I'll be writing a fic about that sometime soon, so I suggest you either start watching or reading it!_

_Sorry for the late update. My best friend just died, so I've been really upset lately. But here it is! This chapter allows some time for Izumi (formerly Hua) to bond with Fai. Yeah, I had to leave some parts out or change them. Like I said, I really can't put in every detail in the book. If I did, this story would be like a five hundred page novel. Trust me, I've tried. This is a FaixOC fic, remember. I do not allow flames in my reviews, but I do accept constructive criticism._

**Disclaimer: No, sadly, I do not own _Tsubasa: Resivoir Chronicles_ or any of its characters, except for Izumi (trust me, I would buy the rights to this manga any day, if I had the money). All rights belong to CLAMP.**

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The magical currents flooded the air. I could feel it. Every last drop of magic from that feather was there, and I swore that there had to be two of them. The amount of magic was absolutely overwhelming for me, as I had never been around so much in my life. What was it that could have been so special about that feather?

I opened my eyes and let out a startled yelp. Fai D. Flowright was leaning over me, his crystal blue eyes examining me. I stared up at him, frightened and confused. What was worse was that my head hurt right below my temple. Yuko had hit me hard. _So much for being dead._ He smiled at me, and turned around so that his back was facing me. "She's up!" He declared.

"Oh great. Now I'm stuck with two dumbbells." It was the unmistakable voice of the ninja guy. "Why don't you all just die already?" He grumbled. "It would all turn out better that way."

Fai turned back to me, ignoring him. "You're Izumi, right?" I gave a gentle nod. "Here, let me help you up." He held out his hand, and for a while, I just stared at it stupidly. He chuckled. "You're supposed to take it." He took my hand instead, and pulled me up to my feet. "Still tired, huh?"

Why was it that I couldn't say anything? I felt like a stupid, worthless pack mule. I opened my mouth to speak, but found that it was impossible. I had to nod again. I finally managed to choke out a sentence. "Yeah. I guess." I sounded horrible. I quickly looked away from him, and gazed around the room. "Where are we?" I asked, changing the subject.

Fai shrugged. "Personally, I don't even know. But it won't take long to find out." I looked at the floor. The ninja lay right beside and unconscious Syaoran, but was slowly inching away from the boy. He now sat in the corner of the room, isolated from everyone else. Partially obscured by Syaoran's body was the young girl, Sakura. Fai spoke. "Here, let me introduce myself formally. I'm Fai D. Flowright, but you can just call me Fai."

"I'm Izumi…" _What's my last name?_ I thought frantically. This was so _stupid_. How come I didn't even know my last name? I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "Izumi…um…. This is going to sound really dumb, but I don't know what my last name is." I gave nervous laugh. "Pretty stupid of me, I guess."

Fai sat down, and tugged on my hand gently. I sat down beside him. "Well, you've been through a lot. I mean, sure, it's unusual to meet someone who doesn't know what their last name is, but it happens, right?" _No, it doesn't happen_, I wanted to blurt out, but decided not to, else make myself look stupid. Fai looked up at the ceiling. "I've been through quite a bit, too." He sighed, and for a moment, he looked so sad, I couldn't help but feel the need to comfort him.

I laughed half-heartedly. Not even half-heartedly; it probably couldn't even pass as a laugh. "Then this may be a turning point for the both of us." I sighed. In the corner, Kurogane, the ninja, tilted his head to listen. "Maybe things will be different.

A little white bun popped up out of nowhere. "Different! Mokona likes different!" The thing had _ears_. It almost looked like a rabbit, except a lot smaller and rounder.

I kneeled down beside it. "And what would your name be, little one?" I scratched the space between its ears. "You're awfully cute."

"Mokona is Mokona!"

I laughed uncontrollably. Fai looked uncomfortable. "Mokona, why don't you go check on what Kuro-tan is doing?" Mokona saluted him, and skipped into the corner.

"Why me?!" Yelled Kurogane. "I tell, you, dammit, I'm gonna get you for this!"

Fai turned to me smiling light-heartedly. "I don't want to be nosy at all, but I would like to hear about you. You said you wanted to give up magic, right?" I nodded again. "Why?"

I turned away from him. This was weird for me; not many people were genuinely interested in my life. Normally, if I started telling one about any small portion of it, they would ignore me, walk away, or beat me up. This is why I wasn't a very social person. _Where do I start?_ I asked myself. "I've never been considered normal." I began. "Though my first foster parents loved me, they knew there was something wrong with me. They knew I was different.

"One night, I accidentally revealed to them how powerful I really was. I controlled my father without even knowing it, and led him to shoot my mother with a gun." Tears spilled out of my eyes. "After that terrible incident, I had been adopted by many foster parents. I had been known as the Hsu girl, the Yeh girl, the Chen girl, the Chang girl."

Kurogane growled, "I don't really want to listen to anybody's life stories, so I'm going to explore, if you don't mind." He opened the door, and left, taking Mokona with him.

Fai shrugged. "I guess it's for the better. I wouldn't want him listening to _my_ life story. Continue, please."

I nodded in agreement. "I have ruined all of those families' lives. I had been the cause of so many deaths, and it was terrible. After a while, my bad reputation had gone around, and I found myself living on the streets by myself." I sniffed and wiped the tears from my eyes. "People began calling me the Devil's child, and a Daughter of the Dark. I had a magical ability so powerful that not even I could control it."

Fai looked at me. "So you went to the Witch to rid yourself of magic?" I nodded. "I myself have vowed never to use magic again, because my magic is of such a low caliber that I can control myself. I can understand why you would have to lose yours."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You…are…a sorcerer?" I asked him, wide-eyed. My vision was blurred by tears, so I quickly wiped them away. "But if you can control your magic, why would you stop using it? Yuko said that it was a gift."

Fai sighed. "It's very complicated. You wouldn't understand." He messed up my hair, just as if we had known each other for years, as if he was the brother I always wanted. "You're too young."

I stood up, and put my hands on my hips. "Hey, look buster. I'm eighteen, so I wouldn't be calling me young. Please, please, _please_ tell me!" I folded my arms across my chest and pouted. "_I_ told_ you_ something I wouldn't normally tell anyone."

Fai chuckled. "Still not happening." He stood up, and I found that he was about a foot taller than I was. I shrank back in intimidation. "I told you, it's complicated. Really, if I could explain it properly, I would tell you."

"No you won't." It was true. He wouldn't, no matter how well he could tell his story. I could see it in his eyes. "You're lying. But you'll tell me someday, right? When I'm 'old enough'?" I pleaded.

He ignored me. "I'm going to go see what Mr. Black is up to. You stay here and watch Syaoran-kun and the girl, ok?" He opened the door and slipped out of the room. It was only then that I realized how much magic he really had. When he left, the whole room seemed bleak and empty, except for a strong power supplied by Sakura, which was not quite magic. What bothered me most was that most of the magic I had felt from Fai was not his own; it was a feather's. Where could he possibly have gotten it from?

I knelt beside Syaoran as the door opened and Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona filed into the room. Mokona hopped onto hi s chest, almost instantly waking him. He yelled in shock when he saw Mokona's face so close to his. "Wha—?" He looked up at me. "Who are you?" He asked me, but quickly covered his mouth when he found his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat.

"I'm Izumi. Please forgive me for not knowing my last name." I sighed. "I can't think of it!" I smacked my head, as if that would help at all. Syaoran looked to the floor, and immediately fell by Sakura's side. He held her hand in his. I put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm very sorry about what happened to her. You are a very brave one. Er…may I?" I pointed to the girl. He nodded, even though he had no idea of what I wanted to do.

I leaned over Sakura. Syaoran said, "I can't allow her to die. I can _never_ allow her to die." I saw the fury in his eyes. His love for her was so true, and I knew at that moment that I was destined to help him. I may not have been able to _sympathize,_ but I certainly could _empathize._ I nodded, and put a finger up to silence him. He watched curiously as I felt her pulse. Her body was as cold and as delicate as ice. It occurred to me that she would die if nothing was done. I felt for her chi. It was an ancient custom we used on hurt or injured people in China. Surprisingly, she seemed to have none, but what I did discover was that she had an amazing ability, something that I could not know of what it was.

I looked at Syaoran. "What is it that she needs? I believe I was knocked out before I ever got to hear anything about your wish." The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. He clutched her to his body. His shoulders shook violently. Was it possible that he was crying? I turned around and spoke to Fai. "He needs something. _Anything._ He needs to know that this girl will be ok."

Syaoran's voice floated over. He didn't sound as if he was crying, but then again, I couldn't know until I saw his face. "According to the witch, she's got no memories. I have to find them before she…" I quieted him. It would only hurt him more if he said it. "The point is that I have to find her memories, and I'm not going to stop until I've found them all."

Fai nodded. "Syaoran-kun is strong. He _will_ find all of the fea—I mean, memories."

I turned back to Syaoran. "It would be my honor to join you on this quest. The question is: do you know what these memories look like?" Syaoran shook his head sadly. "That's okay. We'll find out eventually."

Fai reached over to Syaoran, and slipped his hand into Syaoran's tunic. "Waa!" Shouted Syaoran in shock. He tried to bat Fai's hand away. "What do you think you're _doing?!"_ He kicked, and scrambled away from Fai.

Fai pulled out a feather. Not just any ordinary feather, but _the_ feather. The feather that I had seen in the time warp, the most powerful feather I had ever seen. "Is this what a piece of memory looks like?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him. I hadn't sensed any magic on Syaoran, so Fai must have been hiding the feather. He looked at me, and desperately tried to signal me to keep it quiet. I rolled my eyes in disbelief, but decided to find out what Fai was up to before ratting on him.

"We should give him some time alone." Said Fai considerately. "He needs to tend to Sakura."

I dragged him over to the far corner of the room. Fai looked very unwilling to talk to me at the time. "Look." I growled. "We need to talk, mister." I poked him in the chest. "_You_ had the feather. You _stole_ it." I closed my eyes and concentrated on his balance. "And you have another one, too."

Fai put his hands up defensively. "No, I didn't _steal_ anything. I just found them." He said. "I probably would have been smarter about it if I had known I was travelling with a talented sorceress." He looked at me admiringly, making me feel uneasy. "But I thought you had already given up your magic."

"I-I did, of course. Of course I did." I was wondering the same thing, actually. I had to think fast, this time. "I just…. Sensing one's abilities is one of my skills, I guess."

"You're not sure about it either, are you?" He asked, that look of awe never leaving his eyes once. I inched away from him slowly.

"Er…No." I responded, through gritted teeth. _How come he can see right through me?!_ I was screaming with rage in my head, but the anger was kept concealed from the real world.

The door opened. Kurogane leaped back into the corner of the room. Syaoran pulled Sakura behind him, as if to protect her. Mokona took his place on Kurogane's shoulders, only to be swatted off. Mokona wandered over to Syaoran and perched on his head. Fai unconsciously pulled me up and pushed me behind him, taking a very defensive stance. _Is he trying to protect…_me_?_ I wondered in bewilderment. _Why the heck would he do that? I barely know him._ Fai blocked me from the figure that was slowly opening the door.

The thing that approached us uttered a word of pure evil.

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_Yeah, sorry for the late update. I've had this one ready for weeks, but I've been dealing with family issues. Hope you like it! Please review! Pretty please? FLARES NOT WELCOME._


	5. History Lesson!

_Alright! So, I was working on this chapter _all day_ yesterday, and I just found out that I can write real quick if I put my mind to it. But that doesn't mean you all can expect the next chapter by tomorrow, but then again, maybe you can! __This chapter is pretty much the same as in the book, except with Izumi's little parts. It's going to get more interesting in the next chapter; don't worry. __Oh, and REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!! please, I'm begging here!_

_Sakura_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own _Tsubasa Chronicles._ All rights belong to CLAMP. Jayjaylemony does not own any of its characters other than Izumi._**

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"Yo!" A man's voice said. "So you're all awake now!" I looked up, and found that the man was an ordinary human being, who seemed friendly enough. Ok, so maybe I exaggerated a bit on the whole, "word of pure evil" thing, but I have to admit, I was rather afraid at the time. The man carried a bowl in his hand, and wore a smile that was rather too large for his face. The only threat that was posed was the woman who trailed behind him, who possessed the powers of a Shinto priestess, but still, the chances were very slim that she would harm us. "Woah! No need to get all tense! You came from Yuko-san, right?"

"Yuko-san?" Though Syaoran was who asked the question, he seemed to ask for all of us, since none of us knew who she was.

"You know," The man replied, "The girl witch. The dimension witch… The far east witch… She has a lot of names." We all nodded in understanding now. She had told me her name, but had I really forgotten it? _That's weird… what could have happened to cause me to forget what her name was?_ I wondered. _Then again, I know I gave up _my_ name, but I don't even remember what it is anymore._

"Here." Came the gentle voice of the woman, as she handed Syaoran-kun a mat.

"Oh! Thank you!" Syaoran-kun bowed gratefully, as he laid Sakura-san on the mat.

The man introduced himself. "I'm Sorata Arisugawa." He gestured to himself, as if we didn't already know who he was talking about. Mortals really bothered me at times.

"I'm Arashi." The woman said, bowing her head respectfully.

"Just to let you know," Sorata-san stated, "She's my wife and the woman I love." Arashi rolled her eyes and turned away in a mortified manner. Still, Sorata-san continued with his extremely boring speech. "I call her my 'honey'! Just make sure you've burned that into your hearts." He grinned at all of us. _Hah_. _As if it applies to _me. Arashi ignored him and handed out bowls of soup as each of us introduced ourselves. Sorata-san walked straight up to Kurogane and warned, "By which I mean that if you lay a finger on her, you'll die horribly."

Kurogane looked around the room nervously then exclaimed, "_Why do you say that only to _me?!" when he realized that the comment was directed to nobody else. Sorata-san only skipped away merrily. I stifled a laugh.

"Now…" Sorata-san looked more serious now, thankfully. He picked up Mokona and held him in his hands. "I figured you went to the witch-lady and got this from her to get here, right?" he asked, pointing to Mokona.

Mokona giggled playfully, "Mokona Modoki!" The two of them agreed that Sorata-San would just call him Mokona.

"I heard the whole story from the man over there." He said, pointing to Fai. "The blonde guy, of course. Mr. Black over there is too mean to ask." Fai chuckled as Kurogane boiled. I realized that Fai must have woken up long before I had. "_Anyway_, ladies and gentlemen, this is your lucky day." I didn't exactly see _why_ it was our lucky day. A different day, sure, but I wasn't so sure about the word 'lucky'. "Mokona has no idea which is the next world, right? Well, it's a happy chance that brought you to this world first of all."

"Umm…" Fai smiled nervously, "Why is that?"

"Because this…" Sorata-san beamed, "Is the Hanshin Republic!" He opened the sliding door to reveal a bustling city. I had never seen so many buildings in my life! There were many large signs and symbols plastered on the walls of the buildings. It was incredible! I realized that one of the recurring symbols on the buildings was the head of a tiger. Now I understood why we were so lucky! The city was one of the most amazing I had ever seen.

I oogled as Sorata-San pulled out a hand-puppet. _A puppet?_ I laughed out loud, but quickly shut up when I realized nobody else was laughing. "This is the Hanshin Republic. The best of the island nations." Sorata-San was using the puppet to interact with us. I sniggered, but had to make sure nobody could hear me.

I suppose I can understand why he used the puppet now that I think about it. I can't imagine his extremely long speech without any humor in it. If he'd spoken like a regular old boring history teacher, I probably would not be alive. In fact, I would have been dead in an instant, since I've always hated anything ordinary or mundane. As a matter of fact, yes, I am grateful he used the puppet.

Sorata-San continued, and was quite absorbed in teaching this one particular lesson. "We are surrounded by seas on all sides. We get the odd hurricane, but we hardly ever have earthquakes… We have several trading partners across the seas, and we export like crazy!" I wanted to laugh again. _What's wrong with me? Am I hysterical?_ "We have four seasons. Right now, we're in fall, the season where rice tastes its best. The main staple is wheat flour, and our sauce is famous! We have the Hanshin Republic and rule of law, and by law, we never make war with other countries.

"Modes of transport: car, bicycle, motorcycle, train, boat, plane, _and_ one can consider a _baby carriage _to be a form of transport, right, honey?" Sorata-san's puppet looked lovingly at his wife's. I laughed when I finally figured out what it implied, and was glad that for once, I was not the only one laughing. "The shape of the island is thus." Sorata-san's puppet pointed to a land mass on his map. "Because of the similarity to a tiger, people call us the tiger country. Of course, the Hanshin Republic uses the image of a tiger quite a bit. Our currency is the Koko (tiger)." _Wow, this country really lives up to its nickname. _I thought. "There are one Koko coins, 100,000 Koko bills, and the tiger head is the symbol of the country."

"Sir!" A hand shot up in the air, missing my face by millimeters. I scooted away from Fai. "I have a question."

"Yes, Fai-Kun?" Sorata-san said.

"Does everyone in this country have an accent like yours, Sorata-san?" Fai asked. _Kiss up._ I fumed angrily.

"Aw! Don't be so formal! Call me Sora-chan!" Sora-chan (formerly Sorata-San) said. "My accent is unique to me. It's an older version of our language." From the way he spoke of it, I could tell he was quite proud.

"Yours is a language people used in the past?" Syaoran-Kun asked curiously.

"That's right!" Sora-chan exclaimed, only reinforcing the fact that he was proud of his accent. "Nowadays, hardly anyone uses this language. I'm a history teacher, and I'm firmly against allowing all the old ways to fade away." He leaned in, and pointed to Syaoran. "I take it you have an interest in history?"

"Yes! In my world, I used to work on archaeological digs!" Syaoran-kun explained intently.

"Then I say we have something in common!"

Fai's hand rose again, nearly poking my eye out this time. I backed up into Syaoran, and apologized to him. "And I have another question." Fai said. "Where exactly are we? Who owns this room?" He asked. I was wondering the same thing, but then again, who wouldn't be?

Sora-chan smiled. "This is an empty room in a traditional apartment building that my honey and I manage. Isn't it great? A beautiful apartment manager that's also a great cook!" Kurogane leaned back and closed his eyes, as if to say, 'this guy's really lost it.' Sora-chan shouted, "You! Wake up!"

Something hit Kurogane's head, and he shot upright. All of us travelers became very defensive, and put ourselves in a protective stance. "What was that?!" He yelled, looking around the room angrily. "I didn't feel an enemy, who did that?!" Kurogane examined each of us, and abruptly turned to face Sora-chan. "Bastard! _You_ threw that, didn't you?!"

"You were in a corner." Fai stated matter-of-factly. "If anything hit you, it came from above."

"What?" Sora-chan looked utterly surprised, as if we were idiots not to know something. "It was my Kudan. What else?" He shrugged.

The word was not familiar to me. In fact, I had never heard it spoken in my life. Apparently, it was likewise with the others as well. "Kudan?" We all asked in bewilderment.

"_You don't know?_" Sora-chan gasped. "Of course you don't! You all come from different worlds! You _wouldn't _know!" He was genuinely puzzled. "Everyone in this world has a kudan attached." He took out a marker and began writing on the board. "Here's how it's written in Kanji."

"Ah…" Kurogane nodded. "I see."

"I don't see at all!" Fai piped cheerily.

"Then I guess that makes two of us." I grumbled. Even if I _did_ read Japanese, I still wouldn't know what it meant, anyways, since the Japanese writing in my dimension was far different.

"Mokona can read!" Mokona jumped up in the air excitedly.

"That's great, Mokona!" Fai laughed, picking up the white think and stroking it gently.

"Can you read, Syaoran?" Mokona asked.

Syaoran shrugged. "Yeah. More or less."

"Kurogane and Syaoran's worlds both use Kanjji, but Fai's and Izumi's probably doesn't. But you can understand what I say, and I can understand you." Sora-chan nodded curiously. That _was_ strange. _Why can we all understand each other?_ I wondered.

"Now…" Kurogane began, his face getting completely serious and deathly. "What kind of technique is this kudan? And you used the word 'attatched'. What's that supposed to mean?"

Arashi spoke for the first time in a while. "Even if you come from another world, once you entered this one, a kudan will automatically be attached." The whole room grew silent. None of us had Kudan. Was it possible that we would each get one? Arashi kneeled beside Sakura-san. She turned to Syaoran. "Do you mind if I call her Sakura-san?" She asked. Syaoran nodded. "I cannot say where Sakura-san's memory went, however, if someone has picked it up, it will be the cause of a fight." Syaoran-kun's face fell.

Arashi addressed Fai and Kurogane. "You have lost your method of battle."

Fai asked, "How did you know?"

Sora-chan stepped in. "My honey used to be a Shinto religion miko. She possesses spiritual powers. She's retired ever since she married me." He smiled dreamily. "Her beauty when she was dressed as a Miko was a god-send!" Arashi ignored him.

"Actually," Fai coughed. "I did give my magical powers to the dimension witch."

"And I handed my sword to that _bitch_." Kurogane snapped.

She turned to me questioningly. I nodded. "I gave her my name. And my time…I guess. My job is to protect these travelers."

Kurogane huffed quietly, "And who said we needed any of _your_ help? We have me!"

Arashi thought for a few moments. "Interesting. So Yuko-san asked for your name, did she? That's an interesting one. I am quite sure she had a reason for it, too. Can you tell me what you wished for?" She asked. I didn't really want to tell her; I was afraid she'd think I was weird for giving up my 'gift'. And I certainly didn't wish to tell her the whole story about how my magic was my curse. But I figured it would be the polite thing to do.

"I wished away my magical abilities." I said.

She nodded at me, but eyed me closely. "Are you sure it was you magical abilities you wished away? Or did your name act as a controlling device for your magic?" She asked me.

"No, I wished away my magic…" I tried to sound confident, but uncertainty leaked into my voice. "Why do you ask?"

"Here's the problem. I sense an enormous amount of magic in you. Unless my senses are deceiving me, I must say that it is quite possible you've been cheated…" Arashi sighed apologetically. I didn't want to believe it. "…or… you've been helped."

"_Helped_?" I asked. "How can it be _helpful_ that my magic isn't gone?" My voice cracked, and I looked away embarrassedly.

"Certain names are more uncontrollable than others, if you are born a magician. If your parents did not know you were a sorceress at birth, then they may not have known how to name you properly." She said. I nodded, even though I couldn't make sense out of a single word she said. "If you told Yuko that your magical abilities caused nothing but despair to you, she would try to fix it, without getting rid of your magic. Yuko is a witch that is against the loss of such a gift."

I didn't want to believe anything anymore. What was there to believe? Who was there to trust?

Arashi looked at Syaoran, who told her, "It wasn't any sort of power that I gave her. I never had magic or weapons or anything like that from the start." He looked down sadly. I felt sorry for him, though I still had no idea of what he gave up.

Shockingly, Arashi said, "That may have been your good luck." Syaoran looked up in hope. "There are kudan in this world. When it comes time to fight, that kudan should be able to help."

"Then this kudan was originally meant for battle?!" Syaoran asked hurriedly.

Sora-chan smiled. "What you use it for…or how you use it is all up to you. One look can answer a hundred questions." Each of us looked up. "If you want to see what your kudan is, the only thing to do is see it with you own eyes." Sora-chan smiled playfully again, holding up his puppet. "Well, I've pretty much explained everything there is to know about this country. He leaned closer to Mokona. "Well? Do you think that Sakura-Chan would have a feather on this world?"

Mokona took a few seconds to think, but responded, "Sure does! It's still a long way away, but this country has one."

Sora-chan said, "Shall we find this feather of yours?"

"Yes!" Syaoran shouted firmly. I smiled at the sound of his voice. He was so strong and willing to do anything for the unconscious princess.

"And you, do you feel the same?" Sora-chan addressed us.

I bowed. "It is my honor."

Fai shrugged. "I might as well." His face never lost that smile, even though there was a hint of sadness to it.

Kurogane looked very reluctant to agree, so he asked Mokona, "If I said I wanted to leave, would you do it, white thing?"

"No!" Mokona giggled. "Mokona will not leave this country until Mokona finds the feather!"

"Fine." Snarled Kurogane. "Whlie you're on this world, I'll vouch for you.

Syaoran smiled gratefully. "Thank you… Mokona."

Sorata-san said, "I owe Yuko-san a favor. This is an apartment building. We have room. You can use these rooms until you go to your next world."

"Thank you very much!" Syaoran-kun and I said in unison.

Arashi yawned. "It's after midnight already. It's time to sleep. I'll show you to your rooms." She pushed the door open and led us all into the hallway. "Fai and Kurogane, you don't mind sharing, do you?"

"Not at all!" Fai chirped.

"_WHAT WAS THAT?!" _Kurogane yelled. I snorted, and tried my best to refrain from laughing. I didn't succeed.

"You can use this room." She said to Syaoran. "And Sakura-chan…"

"It's okay." Syaoran-kun stopped her. "I…I want to stay by her side."

Arashi turned to me. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we don't have any other rooms. You're welcome to stay in one of the already occupied ones, though. You may stay in Fai and Kurogane's, although…"

I smiled. "It's okay. I'll keep Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan company. I have the feeling Syaoran-kun really needs some cheering up." Arashi nodded and whispered a gentle 'goodnight' before I opened the door and went into the room. I sat down beside Syaoran-kun, and placed a hand on his head. He looked up at me. "Syaoran-kun… She'll be fine. I promise you that I won't stop until I find her feather, but only if you promise to do the same."

Syaoran nodded. "I promise." I got up, and laid a mat on the floor. "Oh…" I turned around to face him. "You're a good person, Izumi-san. You may not know it, but whatever bad you have in you doesn't show."

"Thank you, Syaoran-kun." I kept my voice level, but as I closed my eyes later on that night, I knew that his one little comment was enough to make my day.


	6. Putting the Pieces Together

_Hi everyone! Ok, so I wrote and published 2 chapters in one day! Pretty good, huh? I'll start the next one, too! _

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective right holders._**

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I was haunted by two dreams—make those nightmares—and neither of them were very reassuring about my surroundings or my comrades. No, neither of these nightmares are ones that I want to remember, but unfortunately, they are both ones that will remain in my soul for the rest of my life.

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_**First Nightmare:**_

_I could see nothing. Everything seemed black. I put my hand in front of my face, but couldn't see it. There was no light in this room—if it was a room—and no floors or walls. I was floating in midair, but couldn't move, for fear of being dragged further into the darkness. No, I didn't want that at all. If anything, I wanted to see myself on the tatami mat beside Syaoran-kun and Sakura-san, but there seemed no way out of this ocean of darkness. _

_One thing that was even eerier than the darkness was that I could hear nothing. There was no sound whatsoever. There was no noise coming from my mouth, even when I opened it and screamed until I thought my lungs would burst. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere—literally, and there was no light or sound. _

_But there was a sound. Distant, yes, but it certainly was there. _What is that sound?_ I asked myself. _Is it…laughing?_ I strained my ears to hear. _Yes, it definitely is laughing. _I was correct. This laughter was not a light-hearted, humorous laugh, but it was one that will disturb me forever. It was maniacal, twisted, as if the person who was laughing had his heart ripped out of his chest and had it mangled and hacked, and then had it put back in his chest again. But aside from the evilness of this laugh, there was something beyond that, something that was in pain. This creature was aching all over its body, this creature was wounded from the inside out._

_The monster to whom the laugh belonged to rose up from the depths of the darkness, its eyes only inches away from mine. This monster was a dragon, and it was the largest dragon I had ever seen. It was black in color (not so black that I couldn't distinguish it from the surrounding darkness), and its devilish wings were a shade of light blue. Its eyes were a ghostly shade of orange. It smiled, and I found that its teeth were as sharp as daggers. _

_It rose up into the darkness above me, and flew as it laughed. Its wings beat rhythmically, and its body seemed like a snake's as it slithered through the air. It was a majestic creature, probably one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. But there was a scary tale behind it, one that I would have to find out later. The dragon glided through the black and was in front of me again. _

You_, the dragon declared. _You are the one I have been expecting._ It circled me once, examining every square inch of my body. I still couldn't speak._ You are a daughter of the dark, are you not?

_I finally managed to spit out a question. _Who _are_ you?!_ My voice reflected more strength than what I really felt. _

I am the guardian of the darkness_. _I am one's worst nightmare._ The dragon breathed._ I have been waiting for you, and I know who you are. I am the world's destruction, the end of all living creatures. _The dragon laughed again. _But most importantly, I am your Kudan. _I wanted to scream, but my voice was zero again. I couldn't move at all, and watched in horror as the dragon disappeared within my heart._

* * *

I jumped up with a start. My breathing was rough, but luckily it calmed down when I found out that it was only a nightmare. Syaoran awoke only seconds after I did, and seemed to have had a dream, too, although possibly not as disturbing as mine. We both lay down on our mats, and Syaoran quickly fell back asleep. When I finally did as well, I was encountered by the second nightmare of the evening.

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_**Second Nightmare**_

_It was dark out. I stood in the middle of a rather gloomy-looking courtyard. The buildings were old and made of brick, and the paint was peeling. I didn't like the atmosphere of this place at all. Up in one of the towers, I could hear the faint sound of babies crying. Many people screamed, and I could hear vicious words such as, "They're twins! We have to kill them!" It made me shiver slightly._

_I watched as my surroundings changed, and the sun slowly began to peek up over the horizon. It was as if someone had hit the fast-forward button on the TV remote. Time sped up, and then slowed down just as the sun could be seen over the hilltops. The sky was an orangey sort of color, and the suddenly, just like that, the place was a whole lot nicer. When everything was moving at a normal pace again, I could see a man being rushed out of the building. The men who held him rushed by me, without even noticing my presence. As they passed, I could see that the man's face was pale, fright forever etched upon his face. He was dead._

_Time sped up again, until it was almost noon. I heard the babies cry again, and watched as a young woman climbed to the roof of the tower. She blocked the sun completely. She wailed, as though she was very upset. I could tell that she was still recovering from her birth to the babies she had had earlier. She was the mother. I watched in terror as she hurled herself off the roof of the tower, and screamed when she hit the floor with a splat. I approached her slowly, and looked down. Her body was twisted in impossible ways, nearly every one of her limbs broken. A pool of blood began to form on the floor. She was dead._

_A maid hurried out of the tower, and shrieked when she saw the dead, bloody woman. She dashed back into the tower, and when she emerged again, at least twenty people followed her. They gathered around the dead woman, without even noticing me. _

_Time sped up yet again, but this time, it did not just cover the time span of a few hours, but time flew by in years. It was going at a dizzying pace, and finally, it stopped moving. Several years had gone by. Two twins were shoved unkindly out of the tower by strong men, and following them was a king. I followed the group as they shoved the boys to another tower, travelling through the forest. The boys fought back, kicking and biting, but the men got the better of them, and locked one at the base of the tower, and the other at the top. The one at the bottom called up, "Fai!" The boy at the top called down, "Yuuy!"_

_My heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that the boy at the top was Fai? He sure did have the same cerulean eyes. The king shouted, "You will be locked in that tower forever, without your magic, for this tower neutralizes any abilities." _

_Time flew by. The townsfolk threw bodies at the base of the tower, and Yuuy, the boy at the base of the tower, tried to use these to climb up to Fai, but he never succeeded. The king became insane, and murdered everyone in the country, except for the twins. I watched as the king killed himself in front of Yuuy, and Yuuy screamed. _

_Time was gone like that, and years flew by. A man came from another dimension and introduced himself as Fei Wang Reed. He offered to free one of them, and chose to free Yuuy. Fai struggled as Fei Wang Reed lifted him onto the roof of the tower, throwing Fai to his death._

_I froze. _Fai? But Fai's alive!How can that be?_ I asked myself._

_Time passed, and I still followed Fei Wang and Yuuy. Fei Wang messed up Yuuy's memory, and somehow made Yuuy believe that he was the one who told Fei Wang Reed to free him. Fei Wang used Yuuy's guilt to make him his servant. "Yuuy," He had said, "When you are freed from the valley, you will have to go on a journey, protecting a princess. You will find to feathers, and when you find them, you should put one in your dead brother's body to keep it from rotting, and the other you must give to the princess." _

_Time whiled away, and I watched as a king, King Ashura, came to take Yuuy with him. I jumped dimensions in order to follow them. When King Ashura asked for Yuuy's name, Yuuy said, "Fai." I stopped. _Fai? _It was impossible. _So, he lied to me. He lied to all of us. _I kept on following them even though my heart felt betrayed. _

"_Fai…" The king thought. "I will name you Fai Flowright. No, better. Fai D. Flowright." _

_As time passed, Fai D. Flowright found two feathers, and used one to create a person with cat's ears, Chii. I was terribly upset. Why would he betray Sakura by using _her_ feather for _his_ needs?_

_In that moment, he looked at me, and I knew that he saw me. The way his eyes widened, as if he knew who I was. They seemed to say, _Izumi?_ I didn't move. He was looking right at me. Suddenly, I found myself standing right in front of him. He was about my age now, but he was still a whole head taller than me. Neither Chii nor Ashura saw me. When they looked in my direction, it was as though they saw right through me, literally. _

_Fai said, "You're here, and you know." He looked straight into my eyes, and held my hands in his. "Help me, Izumi."_

_I had seen enough._

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**_Okay, so how do you like it? Share the love by reviewing. OKAY, IF YOU DON'T REVIEW, i WILL BE VERY SAD._**


	7. What's a Kudan?

_Ok! I've finally managed to crank this one out. Unfortunately, once school starts, I won't be able to update as quickly. Luckily, I still have till the end of this week. Hope you understand!_

_This chapter is from the book, except for the beginning, which is Izumi's little scene. Unfortunately, I didn't have to book available to me, so I used a website as my reference. The dialogue may not be completely accurate._

**_Disclaimer: Alrighty! So I asked my parents why we couldn't own Tsubasa and I got this long lecture (Sakura goes on and on about the long speech her parents gave her about how they are not rich enough or how the rights do not belong to them).......so THAT'S why I don't own Tsubasa, or any of its characters, other than Izumi. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective right holders._**

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"Izumi…" I heard Syaoran's voice, but it was muddled by the sound of a girl's agonized screaming. Syaoran shook me, but I refused to get up. "Izumi!" The screaming was broken by helpless sobs every now and then. "Izumi, wake up!" I tried to speak, but couldn't hear myself over the screaming. Suddenly, the screaming was replaced completely by raspy chokes and wails. Whatever happened to this girl must have been pretty bad.

I heard the door slam against the wall when it opened. Fai yelled, "What's going on?!" I felt Syaoran let go of my body. I could feel a difference in touch when Fai put his hand on the back of my neck to support my head. "Izumi… open your eyes." His voice was so calm…what was it about his voice that really reached out to me? At first, I was really unwilling to open my eyes, but his soft, cooing tones got the better of me. I opened my eyes, and noticed that the sobbing stopped. I tilted my head, and saw that Syaoran-kun, Kuogane, Fai, Mokona, Arashi, and Sora-chan were all crowded around me. I could barely make out their features because my vision was blurred by…something…wet? _Was I crying?_ I tuned into my body. My voice was hoarse, and my breath was ragged. _Was I the one who was screaming?_

Fai ran his fingers through my hair. "It's alright. Everything's fine. Just calm down." He touched the tip of his nose to mine, and I felt my breath become normal again. His crystal blue eyes were enormous from this angle. I was afraid I would be swallowed by them. I saw something in those eyes. Though his smile seemed to mask most emotion, his eyes screamed out, _sadness_. He stood up. _No,_ I thought, _Don't go!_ "Well, then, I think that's taken care of. How long had she been screaming, would you say?"

"Twenty minutes straight," Syaoran yawned. "I wonder what could have possibly disturbed her so much that she'd have to cry like that?" The whole group nodded. I could have sworn I saw a look of guilt on Fai's face, but he quickly masked it with that enchanting smile of his.

Sora-chan turned to Arashi, and though he spoke in a whiper, I could hear him. "Do you think—?"

Arashi nodded, and whispered back, "It can't be said. It is my theory that it is combined with something else."

I rose to my feet. "I'm ok. Really." They were unconvinced. My voice was barely audible. I saw that princess Sakura had slept through all of the commotion. "Come on," I said, "Let's go have some breakfast." The frazzled group nodded slowly, before filing out of the door one-by-one. Just as Fai was about to leave the room, I called out, "Yuuy!" But I quickly stopped myself. Luckily, he didn't seem to notice that I called him by the wrong name.

He paused. "Yes?" He turned around and laughed. "Your voice has made a remarkable recovery." It was true. I could speak as well as anyone else again.

"I-I'm sorry." I looked down. "Really, I am." He tilted his head in a confused manner. _He doesn't know that I know._ I thought. "Never mind. Let's just go downstairs." _Damn. I thought he had seen me. I mean, the way he looked at me in my dream…It made me feel like I belonged there._

When he was gone, I threw on the clothes that Arashi had lent me and ran downstairs, where everyone was already eating bowls of rice. Kurogane looked at me accusingly, and grumbled, "Oh great. Here comes the screaming girl. I'm afraid I'll trigger her crying if I say something mean." I rolled my eyes and pulled out a seat. Sora-chan placed a bowl in front of me, which was empty before ten seconds was up. I looked up when I was done, and saw every face in the room staring at me.

"What?" I asked, shrugging.

"You eat like a pig." Kurogane said. "What gets me is that you're still as thin as a toothpick."

"Heh… What Kuro-tan means is, you sure have a fast metabolism." Fai smiled nervously. "But that's a good thing, so don't take it the wrong way."

"Hey!" Sora-chan called, walking into the room. "The Hanshin Republic is pretty big, so you guys won't get anything done sitting in your rooms… You have to start your search for Sakura's feather someplace!" There were nods in agreement. "So get out into the neighborhood and see."

"Okay!" Fai said, saluting Sorata-san.

"Fine." Said a more serious Syaoran-kun.

"Uh…Yeah, sure." I shrugged nonchalantly. _I sound like an idiot!_ I smacked myself in the head, only making myself look even _more_ like an idiot.

Sora-chan nodded, and looked at his watch. "Oh no! It's about time for my lesson to start!" He smiled at Syaoran. "If you walk around, I think you'll be able to figure out what this Kudan talk is about. You're a smart kid." Syaoran nodded diligently.

Arashi put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. "I'll stay by Sakura-san's side for you."

"Thank you."

"Oh," She turned around and looked at me. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with me? You might need rest. It's just a little more than obvious that you didn't get that much sleep last night."

I shook my head. "No, I'll be fine, but thank you for asking. I just…I had a bad night last night." I bowed apologetically. "Please forgive me. I am always a sucker to nightmares."

"No, it wasn't your fault." She patted my shoulder before heading back into the kitchen.

Kurogane pointed to Mokona. "Is the white thing coming along, too?" He huffed.

Mokona jumped up, giving Kurogane—and me—a good scare. "Mokona is no white thing! Mokona is Mokona!" He squealed, and I jumped back. _He looks like a white thing to me._ I sniggered. _A white thing named Mokona, how does that sound?_

"Oh," Sora-chan stopped. "You'll have to take Mokona with you, otherwise you'll pass the feather and you'll never know!" He chuckled. "Don't worry. Nobody will give Mokona a second thought. What I mean is, this country is used to strange sights." I folded my arms suspiciously, but didn't say anything. He handed Syaoran a pouch that looked a lot like a frog. "Take this." He said. "There's enough in there for lunch, so the three of you should take your time and make friends."

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Why is he giving it to the kid?!" He grunted.

"Cause he's the one who looks the most trustworthy!" Sora-chan exclaimed. _Wow. I'm travelling with a group of weirdoes._

"_WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" _I laughed, and was glad to see that Fai was laughing along with me.

The four of us headed out into the city, and I gasped. It was even more amazing now than it was the night before. "It's…incredible!" I whispered in awe. I had never seen a place more spectacular. "And it's _huge!_"

"It sure is a bustling place!" Fai smiled. _What a surprise. _"The small buildings are bunched up next to the tall ones! Syaoran-kun, have you ever seen this kind of thing?"

Syaoran shook his head. "No. Never."

"Kuro-tan, what about you?" Fai asked playfully.

"No! And why do you have to call me by weirder and weirder names?!" Kurogane yelled. I loved watching him get picked on.

Fai shrank back and laughed. "And you, Izumi-san?"

"No. But it's breathtaking. I wonder what life's like around here." I breathed, enchanted. "When I see a place like this, I sort of wish I could have lived here all of my life."

"So you're a big-city type of person?" Fai asked curiously.

I shook my head. "No, not really." Fai raised his eyebrows. "I just…I like change. Right now, I want to get as far away from home as I can get, and, figuring I came from a small town, this is pretty different."

"Ah…" Fai smiled secretively. "So you are a runaway, like me. You left to escape the ones who bother you, but you also left to escape your feelings…though you may like to deny it." I stared at him. I couldn't tell if I was relieved that he knew, or if I was mad at him for knowing. _How does he know so much about how I feel?_ I wondered. _Does he feel the same way?_

"Apples! Get your apples here!" A man was leaning over a counter, trying to stop passerby and get them to buy his products. So far, he didn't seem to have many takers. I felt bad for him, so I started walking towards the booth, motioning for the group to follow.

Syaoran-kun looked astonished for a few moments. "That's…an apple?" He asked. In truth, I was wondering the exact same thing. Apparently so was Kurogane and Fai.

"You mean it doesn't look like that in your country?" Fai asked.

"No. The shape is the same, but it's a pale yellow color." Syaoran replied, confusing us. _In my world, apples are orange._ I thought.

"Isn't that called a pear?" Kurogane grumbled.

"No, a pear is redder and has leaves coming out of the top." Syaoran stated matter-of-factly. _No, that's a tomato, isn't it?_ My head hurt from all of this fruit-talk. It was hard to follow along with them.

"That's a raki-seed, right?" Fai asked, laughing with amusement.

"No, I think he's talking about a tomato." I responded, absolutely positive now. "At least…in my world, that's what it is."

"And…" Growled a very agitated store-owner. "Do you want it or not!?" He yelled, startling me.

"Want it!" Mokona yelled from out of nowhere, without even asking for our consent. The man handed the apple to Syaoran, and gave one to each of us. Syaoran paid the money reluctantly, as though he felt the same way I did about Mokona.

We stood on the bridge. Fai took a bite into his 'apple' and looked at it as though it was the best thing he had ever tasted. "These are pretty good, aren't they?" I grunted in agreement, and Kurogane nodded.

"Yes…" Syaoran said in an unsatisfactory tone. "But I just realized how different our cultures are." He sighed. "It's all so…alien to me." He looked down for a moment.

"Oh. By the way, how did you get to the dimension witch's place? You said you had no magic." Fai asked. _Why's he gotta be so darn nosy?!_ I rolled my eyes as he bothered Syaoran about it.

"I was sent there by the high priest in my country." Syaoran-kun looked down.

"Wow, then that priest sure is something." Fai said, leaning against the railing. "It's not easy to send one person to another world, but somehow he managed to send two of you. That's extraordinary." Fai nodded. He turned to Kurogane. "How about you, Kuro-tan?"

"Will you stop that!?" Kurogane yelled. His face grew more solemn now. "I was forcibly sent by the princess of my country." He looked down, his eyes a pool of a mixture of gloom and rage.

"Oh! You must have done something bad, so you were punished?" Fai and Mokona began laughing. I personally didn't think it was that funny, in fact, I thought it was rather mean of them to laugh at Kurogane. I didn't interfere.

"So what about you?" Kurogane asked Fai.

"Me?" Fai asked innocently. "I went there on my own."

"Then you didn't have to ask the dimensional witch for help. You could have just traveled between worlds yourself." Kurogane huffed, crossing his arms angrily. It was obvious he didn't understand Fai's point of view.

"I can't." Fai smiled joyfully. "Even with all my power, I can only transport myself to another world once." He turned to face us and stood up straight. "The one who transported Syaoran-kun, and the one who transported Kuro-chin—both have very strong magical powers." Fai looked down at his half-eaten apple with a look of sorrow. "But, even so, I bet it took them all they had." Kurogane and Syaoran looked startled, as if they had never heard of such a thing before. "That's why the priest transported Syaoran-kun to where the dimensional witch is. In order to get back all of Sakura's memories, we have to travel to many different worlds. And only the dimension witch can do that." Fai sighed sadly.

Syaoran-kun seemed lost in his memories for a while. We all remained silent. Suddenly, Syaoran turned to me and blurted, "So how did you get to the dimension witch's place?"

I stood there, never having expected to be asked that question. "I…well…" I looked down embarrassedly. "…I really don't know myself. I mean, I _think_ I did it…but then again, it could have been anything." I sighed, wracking my brain and trying to remember exactly what had happened on that day. Nothing. "If I ever remember what really happened, you three, make that _four_, Mokona, will be the first ones to know, ok?" They all nodded.

Suddenly, a group of people in uniform clothing disturbed our peaceful moment. Syaoran-kun let out a yelp. In the front of the group was a man who wore goggles and had his long blonde hair tied back rather sloppily. One of the men in the crowd below him shouted, "We'll get you this time for sure! This territory belongs to _us!_"

"Whoo! They're cool!" Fai shouted. I nodded.

The man in the crowd seemed to lead a group as well. He shouted again, "Don't be so cocky just because you have a high level Kudan!" The people in his group yelled in concurrence.

I was rather shocked. _What _is_ a kudan?_ Though I had a pretty good idea of what the answer was, I asked myself questions like these because I refused to believe it. I looked at Syaoran-kun, who had his hand against his chest, as if something was eating his innards.

When the blonde-haired group leader gave the signal, all of his team members leapt from the buildings and attacked the other team. They did not use weapons, nor did they use martial arts techniques. Instead, I thought I saw them attack each other with…_animals?_ Some of them were very fierce, and attacked with their special powers. Others seemed much less suited for the rage of battle, but proved themselves when they fought.

"So _that's _a kudan?" Kurogane asked, with a smug smile on his face.

"No wonder Mokona didn't scare anyone even though he could move around." Fai nodded.

A frog-like kudan approached the blonde haired leader, so he summoned his. One moment, there was nothing, and the next, there was a giant, stingray-like animal hovering above the man. It was a beautiful creature, and I discovered that its element was water. When it attacked, water gushed out of it in huge amounts, nearly flooding the streets. I saw two boys in the way of the water, but before I could do anything, Syaoran yelled, "Watch out!" He slid in front of them just before the water reached them, and suddenly, just like that, I saw fire surrounding them, instantly evaporating the water. I thought saw the head of a dog in the center of the fire. I gasped.

"Hmm…" The leader said. "Looks like you have a high-level kudan, too!" Syaoran-kun looked up, an expression of pure bewilderment planted on his face. The leader's water kudan attacked once more, and Syaoran-kun's kudan blocked the attack completely. There was a loud _boom! _As the two elements met. The leader smiled. "I'm Shougo Asagi. And you?"

Syaoran responded, "Syaoran."

"I like your style." Shuogo smiled at Syaoran.

"Shougo! The police are coming!" One of Shougo's team members warned him.

"Shoot." Shougo muttered under his breath. He turned to run. "Next time we meet, we'll have a real battle!" He yelled, before disappearing from view.

_So now I know what a kudan is…_ I thought. _But now that I do…what's mine like?_ Again, I already knew the answer. I just didn't want to believe it.

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_That concludes chapter seven! Hope y'all liked it! Don't you worry, I'm coming up with an original story about Izumi's past, so keep on watching for updates! Please remember my policy: If you read it, you review it! (it's actually not official, so don't worry about it. It would be nice, that's all)!_

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	8. Kudan Chaos

Of all of the strange things I had seen in the Hanshin Republic, a boy kudan was one of the strangest. After Syaoran-kun had saved the two little boys, he asked them both if they were okay. The first one nodded enthusiastically, while as the other one simply evaporated without a trace. "Oh!" Fai had exclaimed. "That was a kid kudan!" It made me laugh, not because it was really funny, but because I was rather shocked that kudan could be anything. It was a tense laugh, and I used it as a way to relieve some of the stress that had built up within me.

"Now…" Fai announced. "Where could my 'almost kudan' have gotten off to?" He began over-dramatically scanning the streets.

When Syaoran figured out what the problem was, he hopped up in surprise. "Mokona!" He yelled anxiously, joining Fai in the search, although not over-doing it quite so much as Fai had.

"Aaah!" Kurogane yawned sarcastically. "It probably got stepped on somewhere around here, like a discarded pork bun." He turned so that his back faced us, and ignored us, as if he was humiliated to be around dorks who were searching for a discarded pork bun.

Fai laughed childishly. "Noooo… the truth is quite different!" He pointed to a crowd of girls who were standing not so far away. They giggled in a very girly tone…almost flirtatiously. I had to jump up to see what they were laughing at, because stupid Mr. Black's back was in the way. Mokona was the center of attention, looking its cutest and enjoying the ride.

"It's so cute!" An especially rich, snobby-looking girl squeezed Mokona. Her amber eyes were so large that they took up half of her face combined, and her mouth was so small that you could barely see it. In China, large eyes and a small mouth was a sign of great beauty, but this girl's exaggerated features almost made her look ugly.

"Mokona is popular with the ladies!" Fai laughed. Kurogane stood in disbelief. I let a small giggle escape from my mouth. Syaoran pulled Mokona out of the girl's arms and let it hitch a ride on his shoulder. Mokona waved goodbye to the girls, who giggled and blew kisses. "Mokona, where were you?" Fai asked. He wasn't scolding Mokona; his voice was good-natured and light, but he was demanding to know all the same.

"On top of Kurogane." Mokona said, leaping up onto Syaoran's head. "But then, Mokona fell off! And just earlier, Mokona went just like this!!" His eyes bugged out, and I took a step back. _What does that mean?_ I guessed that Syaoran and Mokona had discussed it separately.

"You mean that Sakura's feather is somewhere nearby!?" Syaoran shouted restlessly. His eyes filled with a hope so strong that I knew he would be hurt when it was broken.

"It was…but Mokona doesn't feel it anymore." Mokona looked down sadly. Though Syaoran's shoulder's sagged slightly, he was still hopeful.

"Did you figure out who had it?" Syaoran's voice was perfectly calm, but still, you could hear the disappointment when he said it. I turned away sadly. I didn't want to see the moment when his heart was broken.

"Don't know." Mokona said sadly.

"Oh…I see." Syaoran said, his voice drained of emotion.

Fai sighed, and tried to make the conversation a little more enjoyable for all of us, and for that, I was grateful. "Hmm. Even if we limit it to the people who were here, it'll still be a long search. There were lots of people."

I was surprised when Syaoran spoke with an unexpected optimism. "Still, we know that someone close by has it. That's pretty good progress." I had the guts to turn around and face them again. Sure enough, Syaoran's expression was not one of defeat, but it was an excited smile. I admired his ability to look on the bright side of things, rather than hide his emotions like _somebody_ else I knew… Syaoran held up Mokona. "And if you sense anything more, let me know."

"Yes! Mokona will go all out!" Mokona nodded.

A little boy ran up to us. He had the cutest, sweetest face, and wore black clothing. When I took a closer look, I found that he was the boy who Syaoran had saved earlier in the day. He bowed to Syaoran. "I just wanted to thank you. My name is Masayoshi Saito. Please let me do something for you in thanks." He offered generously.

While Syaoran tried to convince Masayoshi-kun that it was no big deal, Fai and Kurogane were bickering, as usual. "…but if Kuro-chi never dropped Mokona, this wouldn't have happened." Fai smiled mockingly, poking Kurogane. He continued to taunt the ninja.

"What makes this _my_ fault? And would you stop calling me those names?" Kurogane yelled. I was sure I could see steam rising from his head.

I watched as the two quarreled. Fai was really beginning to bother me, the way he loved to tease Kurogane, while as Kurogane wasn't really getting on my good side either, with all of his endless yelling and profanity. Eventually, I got very agitated with both of them, and yelled, "Would you two quit _fighting_ already, and maybe _listen_ to the boy here?" I pointed to Syaoran and Masayoshi-kun, who had completely stopped their conversation to listen to Fai and Kurogane's. Fai and Kurogane ignored me completely, so I stepped right in between them. "Would you two quit thinking of your own needs and maybe agree that you are _both_ to blame!?" I shouted. The two of them quieted down.

"Mokona wants lunch! Something good!" Mokona squealed. _Why is Mokona making the decisions for all of us?_

"Okay!" Masayoshi-kun nodded in approval. We followed him to a restaurant, where he ordered 'okonomiyaki' for all of us. When the food arrived, Kurogane stared at his food like it was going to come alive and eat him, and Syaoran and Fai didn't touch their food for some deranged fear of being poisoned or something. I picked up my chopsticks and shoved all the food on my side of the table into my mouth at once. I chewed slowly before swallowing and looking up, once again meeting the startled gazes of the group of people.

I licked my lips. "Wow! That was some good chow." I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. The group didn't speak, simply stared, as if they had never seen a person with such an appetite. "What?" I asked. "It _was_ good food! No joke!" I put my hand over my heart.

Kurogane broke the silence. "I _may_ have mentioned this earlier, but, YOU EAT LIKE A PIG!" He shouted, making everyone in the room look in our direction. He coughed, "Er…what I meant to say was, you sure have quite an appetite there." The room became its normal, buzzing self again.

"Yep." I sighed. "I do have quite an appetite, and I'm proud, thank you." I stated.

Fai looked at me, shaking his head as if he couldn't figure out a puzzle. "You know, I have _never_ met a girl like you in my life. Really. I mean, you almost don't seem like a girl!" He laughed, and seemed startled to find that I laughed along with him.

Syaoran cleared his throat. "Ahem…well, now that we have _that_ cleared out of the way… What is…?" He stared down at his food.

Masayoshi-kun looked down bashfully. "Umm…Y'see, Okonomiyaki is _my_ favorite dish, so…" His cheeks turned a pale rose color.

"Okonomiyaki?"Fai asked. "Is that what this is called?"

"Okonomiyaki is a staple of the diet in the Hanshin Republic." Masayoshi-kun continued. "If you don't know, then that must mean…you come from outside the country?" He asked us inquiringly.

"Outside the country?" Fai laughed modestly. "You could say that."

Masayoshi-kun told us that the battle we had witnessed earlier was a fight for dominance. _So... Even though they don't go to battle with other countries, they fight amongst themselves for territory_. He really admired the goggle team leader, Shougo, because he had a strong kudan, but he also had a deep longing to be Syaoran's friend, too. Masayoshi-kun described in great detail about how the kudan levels worked. At the very bottom, there is fourth level, the least powerful kudan. Moving up, there is third level, and then second level, and then first level. The most powerful kudan are classified as special level kudan, and in order to have a strong kudan, a person—no, more like a person's heart—would have to be strong themselves. Apparently, Syaoran's kudan was special level, but it was clear as to why. He was always so determined, always ready to protect princess Sakura, and his determination, love and courage was what made him strong, and what made his kudan strong. _What about mine?_ I asked myself.

"But when did Syaoran-kun's kudan join up with him?" Fai asked, resting his chin in his hands casually. _It's meant as a playful act_… I muttered so nobody could hear. _…so why does it seem so depressing?_

"Now that you mention it…" Syaoran's eyes lit up like lights. "I had an odd dream last night." I watched as Kurogane carefully tried to poke his spatula underneath his Okonomiyaki.

"Stop right there!" A man yelled. I turned around. Just a waiter. Another waiter trailed behind him.

"Your majesty?! And the high priest?!" Syaoran-kun exclaimed. These men were ordinary waiters, and looked nothing like a king or a high priest. _Maybe…maybe they are different people in Syaoran-kun's world._ I concluded. "Y-your majesty, what brings you here?" I realized that if my theory was correct, Syaoran-kun was making a total fool of himself.

The waiter looked rather humiliated himself. "You got the wrong guy. 'Your majesty' is nowhere in my name." He stated firmly, obviously making Syaoran utterly confused. "And mister…" He turned to Kurogane. "_We_ do the flipping around here. If you just leave it and wait, we'll be right there."

Kurogane looked baffled. "Y-yes sir!" He agreed. I don't think he was intimidated by the man himself (I mean, who can intimidate Kurogane?), but maybe he thought the waiter was a king. I shrugged.

"Majesty? Was he a king in your world?" Fai asked questioningly. He wore a thoughtful expression on his face, and I knew at that instance that he was thinking the same thing I was about the king in Syaoran's world.

Syaoran nodded, trying to keep his expression firm and solid, but his eyes were deceiving him. They reflected a sort of incomprehension that you only see on children who have been lost in the forest, and these eyes matched him perfectly, as I could see why he was perplexed. "Yes." His voice was a mixture of both expressions.

"And the guy with him was the high priest…" Fai sighed in amazement. "It's just like the dimensional witch said… people you've met in your world—they've developed under different conditions in other worlds." I nodded gravely. _But what if…what if what she told me isn't true? What if my magic's still here? Then who do we have to trust?_ It was a depressing question indeed, but the feeling was gone in three seconds flat, as I pushed the thought out of my mind, and looked to the future instead of dwelling on instances in the past.

"You're saying they're the same as the king and the priest of the kid's world?" Kurogane asked, his appearance sardonic. He didn't believe this junk at all. It was all just hocus-pocus to him.

"They're the same…and not the same." Fai commented, sounding so sure of himself that nothing could change his mind. _What makes blondie the wise guy all of a sudden?_ I asked. _I mean, he always acts so…clueless._ A new thought struck me. _But what if he knows much more that what I think he knows? What if he knows something about what's to come that we don't?_ Fai continued. "The two from Syaoran's world lived completely different lives than these two. But when it comes down to it, at the very basic level, they're the same. I guess."

Kurogane looked at him with an interrogating eye. "Basic level?" He snorted. None of this talk appealed to him.

"The very roots of their lives…their nature, their hearts." Fai stated, his eyes lost in a dreamy state.

_Their soul…_ The thought hit me instantly. _Their personality, their inner-selves, their soul._ "Soul. That's what you're trying to say, right?" Kurogane had spoken. It was as if he could read my mind, and stole the words right out of my mouth. Syaoran lost sense of the real world, and his eyes glazed over. _He's daydreaming_.

Masayoshi-kun ordered another Okonomiyaki for me, which I enjoyed slowly, in an attempt to avoid looking like a pig. I didn't do so well with that. I loved it! It was probably the best food I'd ever tasted in my life. But _man,_ I missed Chinese food.I devoured three dishes of Okonomiyaki, and was sure that I would burst by the time I was done with the third helping.

As it turned out, Masayoshi-kun was going to help us look for Sakura-chan's feather. We didn't tell him what we were searching for, only that we needed a guide around town. He had to phone home first to confirm with his family. While he was at the payphone, Fai remembered something important. He turned to Syaoran. "I nearly forgot! Our conversation was cut off! You were talking about your dream?"

"It was about this creature that had appeared. That beast of fire." Syaoran jumped into the conversation eagerly. He seemed very interested in his own dream, and was very willing to share it with us.

Kurogane popped out from behind me, making me trip into Syaoran. "If you're talking about weird animals, then I had a dream, too." He said. I was surprised by his sudden interest in our conversation. He had never shown any sort of curiosity whenever we had spoken in the past.

"Me too!" Fai agreed. "It was very persistent." He looked at me. "Did you have a similar dream, Izumi-san?"

I didn't know what to say. _If I tell them…will they still trust me?_ I decided to make things up as I went along. "Um…" I looked down, concentrating on the ground to keep me from feeling dizzy. I nearly fell over when I thought about that dragon's teeth, the way they were so crooked, so sharp, so malicious… I stayed strong, and pulled myself together. "I-I did have a similar dream, actually." My eyes never left the ground. I was very relieved to find that they didn't push any further. After all, nobody else was really sharing any details.

"I want to know who this 'Syaoran' is!" A man's voice yelled. I ripped my eyes from the ground and spun around to see who the voice belonged to. I saw Kurogane's muscles grow tense. Though he showed no emotion whatsoever, he seemed to care about Syaoran, which was a sign of a loyal ninja. At first, I couldn't see the man, but then I saw him—a short, ugly round man with shades and a Mohawk.

Fai stepped forward, all smiles. "Do you have business with him?" His voice was calm and courteous, but strangely, it had small traces of a playful, wild side to it. He had to lean forward to even out the height difference between them.

The man completely ignored Fai's question. "Are you the one who Shogo said, 'likes your style'?" He asked. I could already tell we could never get along well. He was rude and noisy, and completely inconsiderate.

"And what if I am?" Fai dared to push the man to his very edge. Somewhere inside me, I knew he wouldn't be the one to fight this man.

Syaoran stepped in front of Fai. "I'm Syaoran." He affirmed.

"A little kid? Are you serious?" The man turned to the group behind him, who looked almost exactly the same as he did, only they didn't look like potatoes. They argued for a bit over who was Syaoran, and finally agreed on the kid. The group leader took a step closer to Syaoran. "And you plan to join Shougo's team?"

"Team?" Syaoran asked.

"Shougo already has too many top level people on his team. Any more will tip the balance!" The man lost his cool for a moment. "Even Shougo admitted you have a strong kudan! If you're going to join Shougo's team, I'll have to stop you!" Potato yelled.

"I'm not joining." Syaoran said sternly.

A smile spread across potato man's face. "Then you'll join _my_ team?" He asked.

"I'm not joining your team either." Syaoran said calmly. "I have my own affairs."

"Then you're planning to start your own team!" The potato yelled. He looked outraged.

Syaoran shook his head frantically. "No, you're not getting—"

"Well, I'm gonna take you out right now!" The man roared, summoning his kudan. His kudan was a whole lot more powerful-looking than he was. It was like a crab in the sense that it had a shell, but different because it had a tail and sharp points all over its body. _That thing can kill Syaoran in an instant if he's unprotected…He needs to summon his own kudan._

Fai and Mokona chirped, "That's _huge!_"

"I'm not doing anything like that!" Syaoran yelled, and suddenly there was a new urgency to stop the battle. Potato's kudan lashed out its tail, slamming Syaoran in the stomach and making him fly into a column. It was lucky that Syaoran didn't look that badly hurt, but the tail came again. Syaoran quickly dove for the ground, just missing the tail by a fraction of an inch.

"Syaoran!" I shouted. He glanced my way for an instant. "Summon your own kudan! This is not something you can take on your own!" I realized for the first time how unconcerned my voice sounded. I didn't shriek out, 'Syaoran!' like a little girl, but instead, I gave him instruction.

Kurogane shoved me aside and stepped in front of me valliantly. "That won't me necessary. I've been pretty bored around here." He shouted so that Potato could hear him. "I'll take you on!"

"Kurogane's been looking forward to this! He's not bored at all!" Mokona giggled.

"The Hanshin Republic is just his style!" Fai agreed.

Syaoran tried to protest against Kurogane battling with Potato guy. "But Kurogane-san! You gave your sword to the dimensional witch!" He tried to take his place back in front of Kurogane, but Kurogane simply just pushed him back.

Kurogane shrugged. "That sword was magic. It was special, and in my Japan, it was used to kill the monsters there. But kudan aren't monsters." Kurogane stated. He was right. Kudan were like guardian angels, just about as far as you can get from monsters.

The leader tried to bring the attention back to his battle. "So, what level is _your_ kudan?" He bellowed at Kurogane. I had the brains to know that Kurogane's kudan was no pushover. I knew that a ninja who was so loyal to this 'Princess Tomoyo' must be a very strong person.

Kurogane seemed so uninterested. "I don't know, and I don't care." He smiled deviously. "What's the talk for? Come and get me." His voice was so challenging, as if he really had been waiting for this battle.

"Syaoran-kun!" Masayoshi-kun came running towards us hastily. "Syaoran-kun!"

Fai smiled at the young boy, seeming completely sure that Kurogane would bet through this just fine. "Masayoshi-kun, do you know this guy?" He asked casually, as though there was no big deal here. _He's got guts to be able to keep his cool here_. I admired him silently. _I mean, sure, I can just stand here and look totally unconcerned, but I know that I wouldn't be able to keep my voice from shaking when I speak._

"That team leader wants to control the district!" Masayoshi-kun shouted, obviously shaken by the event. "They're battling Shougo's team for it!" _Hah._ I laughed in my head. _He'd have to lose a couple of those stomach rolls to beat him, though._

"Is their leader any good?" Fai asked.

"Yes!" Masayoshi-kun exclaimed worriedly. "His kudan is first-level! He may not look like much, but his kudan is one of the fastest around!" He looked very pale and afraid.

My attention snapped back to the battle. "Take a look at the attack of a first-level kudan!" The leader snarled. Kurogane took his stance, and I could tell he had been training for a long time. The leader yelled, "Kani-nabe Senkai!" As soon as the crab-like kudan flinched, Kurogane slid behind a column. I was impressed by the speed of his reaction time. He ducked as low to the ground as he possibly could, and put his hands over his neck to protect it. It seemed his quick reaction paid off, too, because the kudan's tail sliced right through the solid column, and would have sliced through his neck as well, if he hadn't had ducked.

"It sliced right through!" Syaoran ogled at the sight.

"It seems this kudan is a lot stronger than it appears, and trust me, it looks pretty strong to begin with." I started to panic now, though tried my best not to show it. "Kurogane! Don't underestimate it!" I shouted. I realized that my words were worthless unless he actually listened to them.

"That kudan can sharpen parts of its body to an edge as sharp as a knife!" Masayoshi-kun clarified.

"Kani Doraku!" The Potato man yelled. The crab lunged for Kurogane, and I felt time slow down in my mind. Kurogane tried to leap out of the way, but the crap attacked, and Kurogane had nothing to defend himself. The best he could do was put his arms up to guard his face, but that didn't help at all when a column crumbled on top of him.

I gasped in horror and in fear. "Kurogane-san!" I called.

"Where's your kudan? You're probably so weak, you're ashamed to bring it out!" The man approached the rubble. _He's going to mock Kurogane…_ I felt a tear warm my face. _Damn_. I thought furiously. _Why am I crying?_ Of course, I was trying to be tough, but on the inside, my mind was racing with a million questions. _Am I really that bad of luck?_ I asked. _Are my powers really gone?_ _What will happen to Kurogane?_ But my sorrow was short-lived. I wiped my tears when I saw Kurogane surface from the blocks of marble. _Impossible…_

"Oh, shut _up!_" Kurogane yelled. He was in one piece, bruised and cut, but otherwise perfectly healthy.

"My kudan has an even tougher shell than most first-level kudans!" The leader hollered. I could tell he used his gloating voice to hide his own cowardly fear. He was nothing but a mere weakling.

Kurogane shrugged coldly. "But it has a weakness. If I had a sword, it'd be in pieces right now." He grinned maliciously. The floor shook beneath my feet, and I lost footing. I fell into Fai, who held me by my arms. I stood up, and looked to see what had happened. The earth had split apart, and gave way to an enormous dragon. I gasped sharply. _Is that my kudan?_ I shook with fear. Fai put a gentle hand on my shoulder. _No…It can't be…my kudan is not white…it's black. Pitch-black_. I caught my breath with a sigh of relief. I looked up at this other kudan, another dragon. Its eyes were a bluish color, and it's body was an ivory white. When its delicate wings spread, I saw how powerful they were. The skin between its bones was lucid and strikingly beautiful. The dragon's scales reflected the light so that it looked as fluid as the wind, but as powerful as fire. Suddenly, the dragon melted like metal into a beautifully crafted sword with a gem on the hilt.

The leader took a step back in dread. "S-so that's your kudan, huh? I bet it's all show!" The leader yelled as a way to make himself feel more secure and powerful. "Well, I've got an ultimate attack! Kani Kui-Hondai!" He yelled.

Kurogane charged forward gallantly. "Hama-Ryu-O-Jin!" Kurogane roared. He jumped up, and slashed his sword through the air. It slammed against the ground with an impressive _thud_. Without even touching the leader, it seemed to harm him. I gasped. _H-how is that possible?_ I wondered.

"My kudan!" The leader shrieked in pain, as he fell to the floor. For a second there, I was sure the man would roll backwards. I was rather disappointed when he didn't.

"Are you okay? Hang in there, boss!" The leader's team mates panicked.

The leader gasped for air. "T-the kid lied! He _did_ form a team!" He pointed a trembling finger at Kurogane. "You part of Syaoran's team, aren't you?" He breathed.

"I'm not on _anybody's_ team." Kurogane snapped viciously. "Listen, I only served only one person in my life, and that's Princess Tomoyo!" Kurogane was yelling now. He twirled his new sword around in his hand without paying attention to anyone around him. I let out a yelp when the blade sliced deep into my arm. Another tear slid down my cheek, but this time, for good reason. He quickly pulled the sword out, and I smacked my hand over the cut.

I looked up, terrified. "Blood?"I gasped. I began hyperventilating. "Blood!?" For the entire span of my life, I had never seen my own blood. If I was cut, the wound was healed the moment after I was. It was something I could do with magic, although it wasn't always a good thing. If I couldn't get hurt, I was unstoppable.

"What, you mean you've never bled before?" Kurogane asked in disbelief. He snorted. "You know, you're going to have to get used to it, then, because there's gonna be a lot more in the future for you." He said. "In fact, just to prepare you…" He took the tip of his sword and lightly scratched my hand. It began to bleed immediately.

"_Ah ha ha…"_ A voice was swimming around in my mind. _"Brilliant! I have been waiting for a threat for the whole day."_ The voice was so familiar. My heart stopped. It was the dragon.

"No!" I shrieked. "Oh no, please just _go away!_" I shouted.

Fai looked around in a confused manner. "May I ask who you are talking to?" He asked. Kurogane and Syaoran shrugged. I watched as my blood dripped into a deep crimson pool on the floor. He pointed to himself. "Unless you're talking to me?" He asked.

"No! No, I'm not talking about you! Trust me." I felt my cheeks burning badly. My breathing was uneven. _Y-you…_ I warned the dragon. _Don't you _dare_ come out here. Don't you even _think_ about doing anything of the sort!_

"_But I am your kudan. I am here to protect you._" His all-too familiar laugh erupted in the air, this time being audible to everyone. Fai glanced up curiously. "Was that…laughing?"

"Yeah, I think it was, too." Syaoran agreed.

I dropped to my knees, mumbling nonsense. I stared at the ground, and pleaded, _Please, please, please don't do this to me! Don't hurt my friends!_ I cried now. My tears mingled with my blood. The beast would not reason, and it was coming. Fast.

Suddenly, I could feel something in my heart, building, burning. We were all in a cloud of darkness, and I gazed at the sky. The sky was a deep purple-ish color, and then I saw it. First, a claw. Next, I saw a black leg. Soon, the whole dragon was there, and the sky returned to its regular color. I screamed through my tears, begging it to stop. It was twice as large as Kurogane's kudan, and no doubtely twice as evil. The potato man's jaw dropped. "That's…that's impossible! I've never seen any kudan so big!" He scrambled to his feet, and he and his team ran for cover.

"Oh my GOD!" Masayoshi-kun screamed, clinging to Syaoran-kun for dear life. "Izumi-san! H-how?" He yelled.

I put my head in my hands, shaking my head and murmuring, _Oh no_. Fai kneeled down beside me. I looked at him. He was _smiling_. "F-Fai, what are we going to _do?_" I sobbed, burying my face in my hands again.

The dragon bent down as low to the earth as possible, and looked at Kurogane, who was only about an eighth of the size of the dragon's head. "You are the one who wounded my mistress?" He bellowed, making Kurogane jump back.

"Y-yes!" He gulped.

The dragon gave a satisfied smirk, before rising up to its full height. It spread its massive, black wings, making everyone gasp in terror. Kurogane's sword rattled in his hand, and he let go of it. We watched as it became liquid again, and melded into its original dragon form, its silvery body only a fraction of my dragon's. I was horrified as the two kudan measured up against each other, and it was already obvious as to which one of the two would win. One of us would have to die.


	9. Battle Between Day and Night

_Heya! Ok, so I got up at four in the morning to work on this chapter. i was really excited to hurry the story along! Read it and review, please! I don't want any flares, as usual, but everything else is completely welcome! _

_I hope you guys like this chapter. In it, Izumi's black dragon and Kurogane's kudan battle against each other, and Izumi has to decide who to save, Kurogane or herself. If she saves Kuro by killing her kudan, she basically commits suicide and dies, but if she saves herself by staying out of the situation, Kurogane goes poof and dies. Alright! Begin your tests!_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa:Resivoir Chronicles or any of its characters other than Izumi. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders. Any people or places of my own that seem familiar are completely coincidental. Enjoy!_**

* * *

So now, I had a major decision to make. I could watch this battle unfold naturally and let Kurogane die, or I could figure out a way to fight my own kudan, and possibly kill myself. Neither option seemed very comforting. I was afraid to take a stand, and instead sat in a crumpled heap on the floor, afraid and confused. There seemed no way out of this one unless one of us died.

Fai put his hand on my head and ruffled my hair. "You know, there's always an easier way out of this than death. Not everyone has to save themselves by killing others." I looked into his eyes. They had that same sadness that they had in my dream. I had the feeling he was only going to speak in riddles, and I guessed that he could not give me a straight answer. I had guessed wrong. There was a lot more intelligence to Fai than I would have guessed, and he hid it well. He looked at the two dragons. "I remember very distinctly what you told me yesterday." He looked lost, as if he was pondering something.

I sobbed, and looked up. "What did I tell you?" My tears plipped onto the cement, diluting the blood on the ground and making it a watery mess. My knees were resting in the blood, but I ignored it.

"You told me," Fai continued, the lost look in his eyes fading, "That you killed many people, because of the dark magic that seemed to control you." Fai gazed into my eyes. "Dark magic…that is what it was. The way you described your magic—I can just tell that it was no ordinary magic. It is not necessarily more powerful than regular magic, but when it gets out of control, it can do unimaginable things, and nobody can stop it, not even the possessor of the magic." He picked up a pebble from the ground and rolled it around between his fingers. "Now, I don't know about you, but I can sense an awful lot of dark magic in that dragon."

I didn't understand. I couldn't understand anything. My mind had no room for words at the moment. "Yeah, so what does that have to do with anything?" I moved backwards, and leaned against the column, resting my head between my knees to help stop the headache.

"Well, that much is up for you to decide." Fai told me mysteriously. His voice obscured many secrets about himself, ones that I would have to figure out for myself. He closed his fingers around the pebble. "It may not be possible to kill your kudan without killing yourself, but I am quite sure there are other ways to take care of this situation." He tossed the pebble in the air now, caught it in his hand and then tossed it up again. "It may take a fight, or it may take some extra thinking, but you and your kudan are attached, and you have to figure out a way to break free." He threw the pebble up in the air again, but moved his hand, letting it plummet to the floor. The pebble split in half.

At this point, I realized I had stopped crying. I wiped away the tears that still clung to my face, and stood up. "I suppose you're right." I sighed. "But I do not see any way out of this at all." I said.

He stood up next to me. "Maybe not. You know, there is a reason why this dark dragon chose you to be its mistress. There is something you must have in common." He said. "There is not much time now. I believe that the two dragons are going to fight soon, and you had better do something." Fai gave me a gentle push forward.

I stumbled into the street, beside my kudan. It seemed as though the two dragons had been communicating. I looked up at the black dragon. _I don't want you to do this. There doesn't need to be a fight._ I said. _We can resolve this without harming anyone._

"_You, stay out of this!" _The dragon roared, and I screamed when its tail slashed out, slamming me back into the column beside Fai. "Well," I grumbled at Fai, "That didn't seem to get me anywhere."

Fai chuckled. "Your kudan wishes to handle this battle itself. Let it, and interfere only when the situation calls for it." Fai spoke with such buoyancy that I had no choice but to trust him.

I nodded unsurely, but leaned back against the column and slid down to the floor. My heart pounded like a hammer in my chest when the two dragons took their offensive stances. Kurogane's kudan did not let Kurogane fight alongside it, just as mine had not allowed me to intervene. It seemed that both of our lives rested in the hands of our kudan, and I wasn't so worried about losing mine. Masayoshi-kun was terror-struck for a few moments, but then an inquisitive expression came over his face. "That's really strange. I've never seen kudan fight without their masters before."

I overheard Syaoran-kun ask Masayoshi-kun, "Which level do you think both of these kudan are?" Syaoran was eying the black dragon in particular. "I mean, nobody's said that they are special level…"

Masayoshi-kun pondered the question for a few moments. He never seemed to completely figure out the answer. "Well…you're right about that. I would say that they are both special level, but I can't be so sure anymore… If they're not, then I'll guess that Kurogane's kudan is first level, and that Izummi-san's kudan is…" He paused, and rethought his theory. "You know, I have no idea." He looked like he was about to cry. "I hope Izumi-san doesn't kill Kurogane!" I knew he didn't mean to hurt anyone, but I cringed at his words. _What if I _do_ kill Kurogane? Then what?_

Though I hadn't heard the official announcement, the battle had started. The white dragon did not look afraid, even when it stared death (quite literally) in the face. My kudan not only did not look afraid, but it looked smug, as if there was no hope for its opponent. I wanted so badly to rush into the middle of the two and kill my kudan, but that would be committing suicide on my part. Yeah…maybe I would hold back on that plan. The action began. Kurogane's silvery-white dragon slashed its tail, but my dragon easily and effortlessly dodged the feeble attack.

I bit my lip, drawing blood and only adding to the puddle of it on the ground. Pain was no concern of mine anymore; I was numb with anticipation and worry. It was my kudan's turn to attack, which worried me most. The black dragon rose up on its hind legs, making it even taller than it was before. It blocked the sun, and the world was dark for the few moments it did. My kudan inhaled, and exhaled what I was sure would be fire, the element of most traditional dragons in Chinese folklore. But what it breathed was not fire; it was a pool of black. I gasped. _What the hell?_ _What _is_ that? _And then I realized what it was. Magic. _Dark_ magic.

The black air cleared away, and suddenly both Kurogane and his kudan were on the floor. Kurogane was writhing in pain, and I could see a hole in his shirt, and burned on his skin was a black mark. It was spreading across his torso at an incredible speed, and burning away his shirt as it spread. At that moment, my kudan and I became one, and I could see me towering over Kurogane's dragon, which also had the mark. I quickly snapped back to my own form, and watched as my kudan took one of its sharp talons and prepared to puncture the center of the mark on the white dragon's body. For some strange reason, I knew exactly what would happen when it did. I realized that my kudan had chosen to curse Kurogane with the one thing worse than death: black magic. _When that black seal is broken, the curse will settle upon him…_ I had to do something.

"Stop!" I shouted, so that everyone could hear. It wouldn't matter, anyway. The larger dragon looked up. "Please don't do that!" I begged, dropping to my knees and clasping my hands together.

"_Mistress, I do not understand._" My kudan responded. _"This man…he injured you. I am here to protect you."_ The black dragon responded. I looked over at Kurogane, and could see the life draining from him as the mark spread. I had to hurry this up.

"So maybe he did injure me, and I am very upset about that. But he doesn't have to serve as a slave to dark magic! _Nobody_ should have to." I said, finding the strength in my voice and bringing it out. "It's a terrible thing! And…" I remembered what Fai had told me. _"…there is a reason this dark dragon chose you to be its mistress. There is something you must have in common."_ I hesitated before speaking again. "And I would know, because I know how it feels to be cursed with it. I know how it feels to want to kill and to hurt people to make yourself feel better, and it's not a nice feeling!" More tears. "Kurogane doesn't deserve to be cursed with it. Nobody does, not even _you_."

I could see the muscles in the dragon's body tense. _"Mistress, I am only doing my job." _The dragon would not listen. _"Stay out of this and let me finish him off before he harms you again."_

"He _won't_ harm me again!" I shouted. "You are cursed with dark magic, too. I know that." My voice was softer. "There are other ways out of things other than harming others. Dark magic can make you do terrible things, but sometimes, you have to just fight the urge. Kurogane doesn't have to be cursed with dark magic to be sorry. He just has to tell me he is."

"_Mistress…"_

"Killing someone out of habit just shows that you are weak, that you cannot resist the temptation. But you can be as strong and as kind as anyone else in the whole world. Your first step is to let this dragon go." I pointed to Kurogane's kudan. To my great surprise, the black dragon did as he was told. It let go of the smaller dragon, and released the mark from it. The white dragon slowly began to stir back to life, and I could see Kurogane waking as well. "It wasn't that hard, was it?" I asked the dragon.

"_No"._ My kudan replied. He bowed. _"I am at your full disposal, mistress."_

I shook my head, stroking the dragon's snout. "No, you're not." I smiled at the shocked expression on the dragon's face. "Because I'm letting you free. _You_ decide what you want to do with your life. Don't let your magic get in the way of that." I was crying. Again. I felt guilty for telling him all of this, for I wouldn't be able to decide what _I_ wanted to do with _my_ life without _my_ magic getting in the way.

"_Mistress…I thank you." _The dragon rose up again, and spread its enormous black wings, releasing from its throat a roar, one that didn't frighten us, but one that made us all feel as though this dragon was a valiant warrior who had come to save us all. _"My best wishes to you four travelers, and may you find all of the missing feathers."_ I was surprised that he knew about the feathers, but then again, he probably knew about everything we talked about. The dragon gave the ground a tremendous push with its hind legs to push it off of the ground, and I watched as it flew higher and higher in the sky, getting smaller and smaller as it went.

I walked back to the group. Kurogane was rubbing his head, wondering what happened, but he seemed perfectly fine to me. Syaoran and Masayoshi-kun wore expressions of amazement on their faces. Fai only smiled discreetly, and said, "You did it."

I never got a chance to respond, because an overwhelming dizziness came over me, and I fell back into the column. The whole world was spinning around in circles, and my limbs became weak. I crumpled to the floor. Everything was blurry. I could barely make out Masayoshi-kun's voice. "She's been without a kudan for too long! If she doesn't have one, then she might die!"

"What?!" Fai yelled. He immediately fell to my side. "She can't die!" He exclaimed. I didn't get why I couldn't die, or why I even mattered in the least to him. Everything was getting darker, and the world slowly sank back into place. In the last few seconds before I blacked out, the only thing I saw were those eyes. Those bright, icy blue eyes that seemed to call out, _sadness.__That's the end of chapter nine! Whew! Time goes by fast, doesn't it? Anyways, NO FLARES but constructive criticism and any other comments are welcome. Hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

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	10. Name Game

_Yo! It's me! I just wrote this one right now, and I'd actually like to dedicate it to some reviewers. Don't worry, you'll all get your spot up here, as long as you keep on reading and reviewing! First off, I'd like to dedticate this chapter to my friend Margaret. She's been really encouraging...sort of. And second, I'd like to dedicate this to IceQueen987, for giving me constructive critism. Thirdly, I'd like to dedicate it to OMG-its-a-pen, for actually writing to me about random stuff!_

_Ok, so this chapter's kinda boring, but it reveals hints about Izumi's true self. READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!! I MEAN IT!!!!_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa or any of its characters other than my own. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders_**

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"_Who is that?" A man's voice seemed to pop out of nowhere. I was standing in yet another black ocean. The voice was rough, as though it belonged to a middle-aged man. It seemed oddly familiar, but though I strained to remember who it belonged to, there was nothing. This room seemed to block out memories, as I could not remember who exactly I was, and what I was doing there. I felt slightly less developed, a little bit more childish, as if I was younger than I was supposed to be. What was even more surprising was that I didn't have any magic at all. Astounding. It almost made me feel…empty._

_It seemed like an eternity passed before someone spoke again. This time, it was a female, whose voice was even more familiar. "This young one is not a complete human. She is not supposed to be here at all." I _knew_ that voice. I just couldn't remember who it belonged to in the least. There were little tiny images of some people, but they didn't stay in my brain long enough for me to know who they were. _

"_So what shall we do with her?" Asked the man again. It was only then that I realized that I was not standing, but I was lying down. I couldn't be lying in a bed; the surface was far too hard for that. A table, maybe. My arms and legs were numbed, so that I couldn't move. It was almost as if someone had purposely numbed them. They were a tangled mess, and I forgot how to control them. When I tried to lift my arm, pain swept through my entire body. It was impossible. "She is not a newborn, is she?" The man almost sounded…upset in a way._

_The woman cleared her throat. "No. She is not a baby. She is about five, I should say." Though I could see nobody, I could feel an elegant hand rest upon my forehead. She drew it back sharply. "She is awake! She can hear us!" I wouldn't say that I was awake, but I could hear them, yes. Somewhere deep in my consciousness, I could hear. _

_Another hand felt my forehead. It was calloused and the skin was tough, so I guessed that it was the man's hand. "I don't think she will be able to remember this when she awakens. Her sleep is so deep." The man announced. "No, I don't think she will remember at all." He moved his hand from my forehead and lifted up my right arm to feel for my pulse. I could just barely feel him press against my vein; I was so insensitive. "Her pulse… Her heart beat…It's almost as though she has not even been born. She is too dormant to remember."_

_The woman snatched my wrist from the man and felt my pulse. She sighed. "I suppose you are right. But she will be a tricky one to keep track of. Supposing that she _can_ hear us and _will_ remember, she will find us, and we will be exposed." The woman's voice was filled with worry._

"_There is nothing you should worry about. She is merely a glitch in time and space. Her existence is only the outcome of that wish." The man seemed very confident. Too confident. He must have seen something in the woman's eyes. "However," he added quickly, "We can put obstacles and distractions in her way to keep her from ever finding out. It's that simple."_

"_And how would we do that?" The woman asked, fascinated now. "Do you have anything in mind? If she manages to get past the obstacle, then there is no hope for us. And a series of obstacles is difficult to maneuver." The woman stated matter-of-factly. "Using too much magic can be dangerous, and can alter the boundaries of time."_

_I smelled smoke. The man had lit a pipe. I let out a little cough, but neither of the two paid any attention. "It is not as difficult to maneuver as you think it may be. It's actually rather straightforward. _We_ give her only one obstacle, one that would be sure to trigger a series of difficulties. And there you go; the series of obstacles are there for you, even though you barely lifted a finger." The man said. _

"_You are a clever one, aren't you? Sly as well." The woman agreed. "But it seems as though you are thinking of one obstacle in particular. What is it you are trying to get at?" She asked suspiciously. "Tell me, and I will see if it fits her."_

_I could almost hear the arrogant smile in the man's voice. "We put a curse on her, one that will make everyone hate her. It fits her perfectly." The man laughed, his voice echoing from the walls. So it _was_ a room. "And we will do it…" The man placed his hand over my heart, and suddenly, I could feel so much magic rush into my veins. It was the black magic, the one I had been forced to live with for the entire span of my life. The emptiness was suddenly gone, replaced by the magic. I liked it better when it was empty. "…Just like so."_

"_You beast!" The woman yelled, and I could hear a smack as she slapped him. "You cannot go around cursing innocent young girls! Lift the curse now! Now!" She screeched._

"_Calm down." The man said. "It wasn't so bad a curse, anyways." The man laughed. "I simply cursed her so that the magic in any of her given names will be of no use at all. She will forever be without the magic of a real name."_

_The woman held my hand in hers, stroking it lightly with her fingertips. "This girl…she was born with a gift. She has an amazing amount of magic in her, and it is a magic so strong that it rivals even mine. A given name activates her magic, and she can use it to her own free will." Her voice became mangled with anger. "But you…_you_ cursed her so that she will never have a name, _you_ made it so that her magic will control her, rather than the other way around. You ruined everything." _

_Some part of my brain stirred, and I opened my eyes. There was so much light that I was almost blinded, but not before I caught a glimpse of the two people in the room. I knew who they were, but I could not remember._

_The woman looked at me, and gasped in horror. "Look what you've done! She is awake! She will remember!" The woman pointed at me. "What was the point of cursing her if she will find out anyways?! How are you going to erase her memory?"_

"_We start by doing this." The man put his hand on my forehead again, and then everything went black. Even blacker than the dragon. Even blacker than my blood._

My neck hurt. I must have been sleeping weird. I turned my head to one side, but found that it still hurt, so I turned it to the other. I had a headache so bad that I was sure something was inside my head, clawing my brains out. I had to make sure none of it was dripping from my ears. Good thing nothing was. I let out a small yawn before opening my eyes. At first I thought I was blind, because I couldn't see a thing. My vision cleared, and I glanced up and saw Fai, who was sitting on the other end of the mat and staring at the wall, as if in a trance. His eyes were just the slightest bit bloodshot, and I could see streaks of water stain his cheeks. _Is he… crying?_ I wondered. I stretched my arms to get his attention, and he immediately looked right at me. His eyes widened as though he had just seen a ghost, and we sat like that, staring at each other for a long time. Suddenly, he swooped his arms underneath me and held me close to him, and at that moment, he cried. His shoulders shook, and he tightened his grip. I was sure that I would suffocate.

"…Fai?" I touched his arm tentatively. "Are you alright?" The room we were in was the one that we had landed in. It was strange, because I had no idea what had happened. "What happened? Fai?"

Fai loosened his grip, and I listened as his sobs slowly came to an end. "I…I thought you were dead." He let out another choked sob. "Masayoshi-kun told me that you would die because you had been too long without a kudan." Fai tried to smile through his tears, but it only resulted in more crying. "Arashi told me to use some of your magic to heal, so that maybe you could go without one. I tried, but then you stopped breathing, so I thought that I killed you."

"What?!" I asked, shoving him away from me lightly. "Some of _my_ magic? What magic?" My mind was a wild frenzy of questions. _Yuko took away my magic, didn't she? No, but Arashi said that she would not have completely taken my magic away. But then Yuko didn't grant my wish, right? So what does that mean?_

Fai grabbed my shoulders to calm me down. "Shh…" He lay me back down on the mat. "I'll tell you about it later. Get some more rest. We'll have to leave soon, so you should recover before we do." He stood up, and headed for the door. "I'll give you some time to rest. Just try to sleep, ok?"

"But—" I protested, but he had already closed the door behind him as he left. I folded my arms and sighed angrily. I had a right to know about my own magic! I sat like that on the mat for twenty minutes, but eventually got bored and lay down. I stared at the ceiling so hard that it was almost as if I would be able to find a piece of my past in it. When nothing happened, I took a strand of hair and began wrapping it around my finger goofily. It was funny how much more sophisticated I was when with company.

I heard a voice in the hallway, Fai's. "…Yes, she's in the room. She should be sleeping." He said. Someone was following him, and their footsteps got closer.

"Are you sure she's asleep?" It was Arashi who spoke. It sounded almost as if she was hoping desperately that I was. I heard the knob turn, and quickly closed my eyes and pretended that I was asleep. I made sure my eyes were the tiniest bit open so that I could see what would happen.

"Yes, I'm sure." Fai said as he pushed the door open. His voice was unsure, but even so, Arashi did not speak again. The two of them walked into the room. "See, she's fast asleep." He pointed to me, and smiled happily. His face grew serious as he turned to Arashi. "Now," He said sullenly, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

She glared at him, almost accusingly. "Do you know what her name is?" She asked him, her voice seething with, well, not so much anger as it was demand. "Her name…if it is not a true sorceress's name, then she cannot control her magic. That would be an explanation as to why her magic caused such great despair in her life."

My heart jolted excitedly. So my name had something to do with my magic? _If only I could remember…_ Fai spoke sadly. "No, I don't know what her name is. And it is yet to be discovered if _she_ even knows what her name is." Fai sighed.

Arashi ran her fingers through her hair. "Her name…Yuko took it from her and replaced it with another name. 'Izumi' is a name that is easily controllable, yet that dark kudan came to her anyways…It's a very strange phenomenon."

Fai sat down beside me, stroking my cheek gently. "I know there is something about her..." He said, deep in thought. "It's so strange…I can feel a very powerful magic in her soul, but something tells me she can't use it on her own…" He leaned in closer, as if he could find an answer in my face. I shut my eyes, so that he wouldn't know I was eavesdropping.

"You…are attracted to this girl?" Arashi asked. I expected Fai's expression to be one of shock, because mine definitely would have been, if was allowed to show any emotion at all. Arashi added, "You seem very concerned about her, and about her personal life. And it seems she can open up to you more than she can with Syaoran-kun or Kurogane-san. Did you know her from before?"

Fai stood up again, and I opened my eyes a crack. He looked down sheepishly, with a very childish expression on his face. It almost made me giggle. "I…well…Ever since I first met her not long ago, I've felt a very strange connection to her. I've felt very…protective of her. It feels like I've known her from somewhere, but I can't be sure now… It's almost as though my memory slipped out of my reach…" He looked back up, a new sparkle in his eyes. "I feel like it is my duty to protect her from any danger that threatens her, even though I've realized that she's very good at protecting herself." He chuckled. _So he cares about me…_ I thought. _But why? Why would he care about me? I'm worthless. I'm a bad omen._

Arashi nodded knowingly. "She's a bright one, she is. To be able to somehow separate herself from her own kudan is very unheard of, indeed. My first impression of her was that she is a little more connected to the world than the rest of us are. Connected to who we really are meant to be." I didn't know what that meant at all, but still, I found it quite flattering.

Fai sighed sadly. "I know. But I wish she could use her magic under her own command. I believe she can do amazing things with her talent. She just needs to find a way to get past all the obstacles put in her path. There will be many, and she will have to work hard to earn her control back, but if she can use her intelligence to help, like she did with her kudan, she can overcome anything. I just wish there was something I could do to help." His voice sounded choked, as if he was crying again. He laughed half-heartedly. "See, I can't even explain why I'm crying for her. I don't know why I care so much about what she can do with her magic."

Arashi grunted in agreement, although I knew she had something more to say. She just wasn't sure if she should say it. "Come," she said instead. "Let's go downstairs before she wakes up."

They didn't know I was already awake.

They didn't know I had heard.

I was haunted by a million questions, and I was sure at that moment that I would never be able to sleep in my life again.


	11. A Walk in the Woods

_Alrighty, peoples! So I got this chapter out a day after I got the last one out! That's really good for me! I've been REALLY into typing this story lately, as you may be able to tell, so you're really lucky readers, aren't you? Ok, so for this volume's dedication: Numero Uno (it doesn't really matter what number you get) is AbsoluteFayFan!!! You rock! Keep on reviewing! Number two goes to Marine is hope2, for reviewing so many times! And number three is Kurama'slilAngel. Thank you so much for the good feedback and praise!_

_Thanks to all of you! Remember, if you review, or even just write to me every once in a while, then I'll put you on the dedication list._

_~Sakura_

**_Disclaimer: Ok, so you know the drill by now. I do not own Tsubasa: Resivoir Chronicles, or anything of the sort! TRUST ME, I AM NOT THAT RICH! All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders. _**

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I yawned sleepily, stretching my arms. I blinked my eyes open and wiped the sleep from my eyes groggily. I was expecting to be greeted by blinding light, but instead, I looked up to find a soft purplish atmosphere, swirled with the many colors of light. There were traces of blue, pink, yellow, and green in it. There was even black, but I had seen too much of that already, so I tried to ignore it. It was absolutely breath-taking, but strangely nauseating at the same time. I remembered being here when I transported to the dimensional witch's place, so I guessed I must have been passing though to another world.

I noticed for the first time since I woke up that I was lying in Fai's arms. I must have fallen asleep after he and Arashi left the room. Syaoran stood, his expression sorrowful, and I noticed that Sakura-chan stood next to him, fully awake now. They must have retrieved the feather without me. Kurogane sat on the floor, arms folded across his chest angrily. All three of them wore the clothing I had first seen them in, except that Fai's heavy jacket was now resting over his arm. I could understand that, too, because the temperature was abnormally high. The color danced across their faces, and in the light, each of them was suddenly more enchanting. Fai looked down, and saw that I was awake. He gently let me stand on my own, and announced to the group, "She's awake now."

Syaoran stepped forward, motioning for Sakura to follow him. "Izumi-san," He said, tenderly pushing Sakura-chan in front of me. "I'd like for you to meet her highness, Sakura-chan." She looked like a sweet girl, with bright green eyes and a pinkish shade of hair. Her features were rounded, giving her a more childish look about her.

I held my hand out for her. She looked at it with a puzzled expression on her face, but took it after a few moments. "Hi," I said, instantly feeling foolish for addressing a princess the way I did. "I mean, your highness, I am Izumi-san, at your full disposal. It is a pleasure to finally meet you." I tried to smile genuinely, but it hurt to do so, as I wasn't used to smiling regularly, the outcome of leading such a mournful life.

Her smile was so warm that it made me smile back. "The pleasure's all mine." Her voice was soft and gentle, and it was very reassuring. "Just drop the formalities, though. Call me Sakura." I nodded. I could swear I saw a pang of jealously sweep across Syaoran's face, but it was gone as soon as I saw it. I guessed she didn't let _him_ call her Sakura.

Mokona was floating overhead, its mouth wide open, as if sucking in all of its surroundings. _So that's how he transports us, huh?_ I thought. I pictured a bug flying into its mouth and sniggered. Sometimes my wild side got the better of me. Kurogane stood up and huffed, "How long is this thing gonna take?" He tapped Mokona with his knuckles. "Hello? Hurry up, will ya?" Fai started laughing, and I giggled knowingly.

Suddenly, we were no longer in a cozy little pool of color and happiness. We were falling. I looked down, and I could see the end of the tunnel. At the opening, there was a light. As we got closer, I could see little ants, and later discovered that these ants were people. My stomach was doing backflips, and making me dizzy. The ground was coming to meet us. Fast.

I remember very clearly the looks on the villager's faces. They were quite more than obviously shocked. I mean, we fell from the sky. I landed right on top of a little red-and-white tent, set up in a town market. It cushioned my fall, at least until I rolled off of it and dropped the last ten feet to the ground. "Oof!" I yelped, and heard a sickening snap. I rubbed my head with my left hand, and looked around. Syaoran had fallen right in a cart full of cabbages—at least that what _I_ think they were—and leapt up immediately, with a baffled expression on his face. Kurogane and Fai stood up, rubbing their heads from the impact.

I attempted to hoist myself up on to my feet, but my arms gave way and I fell back down. An excruciating pain shot straight up my arm to the rest of my body, and I looked at it. There was blood, as I had expected, but that was not the worst of it. The bone in my arm was poking though my skin, which was torn and bloody. I almost screamed, but held it back, biting my lip to fight back tears. It hurt like hell, probably because I hadn't really felt pain until Kurogane cut my arm. It was especially painful for me. I didn't cry so much because of the pain, but more at the sight of so much blood. Fai walked over to me, and I shielded my wounded arm from his view. "We have to work on our landing." He chuckled, but noticed the tears running down my cheeks. "Izumi-san, are you alright?"

"…I'm…fine…" I grunted, trying desperately not to cry my head off. I shifted my weight over to my left arm, to ease the pain in my right. "Don't worry…" I somehow managed a weak smile, but winced in pain.

Fai noticed that I was hiding my injured arm from him. "You're not alright, are you?" He knelt by my side, and tried to move my body out of the way so he could examine my arm. "Izumi-san, please. If you're hurt, you have to tell us, otherwise there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, we're going to find out sooner or later, right?"

I nodded, and reluctantly moved out of the way so he could see. A panicked gasp escaped his mouth. "Syaoran-kun! Kuro-pin! She's hurt!" He looked around desperately. "We need to do something. Here," He helped me up, and let me lean on him.

Syaoran apparently had his own problem to deal with. A man had snagged Sakura-chan's arm and twisted it. Sakura let out a small shriek in pain, and Syaoran, hearing his love hurt, instantly lunged at the man. He jumped up with incredible flexibility, and kicked the man right in the face, making the man stumble backwards. He released his grip on Sakura's arm in the process.

I forgot about the pain for a moment. "Bam!" I exclaimed triumphantly, punching my left arm up in the air. I lowered it sheepishly when I found everyone was looking at me. The pain returned.

"Oh!" Kurogane smirked, smiling smugly.

"Ah-ha!" Fai laughed. I cringed in pain, stumbling forward. Fai's light-hearted expression disappeared as he caught me. He pointed to my arm. "We'll have to get that bandaged up as soon as possible. It's a bad wound."

The man stood up, his nose bleeding. He looked stupid and ugly, very shocked by the fact that a young boy had, in fact, kicked him in the face. "Who are you kicking in the face?" He asked, turning on Syaoran, who was taking cautious steps backward.

"Stop right there!" A girl's voice could be heard over everything. I froze, and looked up. A little girl, maybe about nine or ten, stood on the roof of a building, her arms folded angrily. She was the type of kid I could look up to, sort of like Syaoran. I always felt a connection with such kids, maybe because they seemed to have been through a lot of hardships, just like me. It made me feel less alone. "If you don't want to be kicked, stop attacking people at random! You stupid little boy!" It almost made me laugh, hearing a small girl like her call a rather large, chunky man like him a 'little boy.'

"Chunyan!" The man muttered. "Who are you calling stupid?!" The fat man asked, taking an offensive stance.

The girl began sarcastically looking around, saying, "I don't see anybody stupider than you." She put her hand up to shade her eyes from the sun. I laughed, but found that it hurt to do so, as I moved my arm in the process. Fai put his hand on my shoulder.

"You little…" The man mumbled furiously. "You insult me?! I am the only son of Ryanban-sama, ruler of the country of Koryo, _including_ the town of Ryonfi!" The man yelled. In my mind, his words translated into _blah, blah blah. _This was the type of man I would like to beat up. Anyone who uses their father (or mother, for that matter) as a way to make him look powerful is cowardly.

"You may _call _him Ryanban," The girl retorted. "But less than a year ago, he was just a wandering Shinban magician!" She yelled. _What in the world is a Shinban magician?_

My arm was throbbing now. "Fai," I mumbled under my breath. "If this doesn't heal…" I was feeling sick to my stomach. The pain in my arm was so intense that it seemed to affect every part of my body. I began to felt dizzy, now, and my head hurt like crazy. _Oh, god. This definitely cannot be good._

"Is it hurting?" He whispered back. I nodded weakly. He took my left arm and we snuck out of the marketplace. For someone who had never been here in his life, he seemed to know exactly where he was going. "We have to hurry before they begin to worry about us."

I snorted cynically. _Yeah, right._ I thought. He moved at an incredibly fast pace, his feet absolutely silent as they hit the concrete. He dragged me along, and I tried to pry his hand off with my mouth. I stopped walking, and said, "Fai, where are we going?"

"Somewhere far away, where nobody can see us." He said slowly, and for once, the smile on his face was nowhere to be found. "We'll get back to the group later, but right now, we need to do something about that arm." He motioned for me to follow him. "Come on."

I stumbled after him into the woods. "Why _here?"_ I whined, not wanting to be so far away from people alone. With an older guy. I shook my head, as if to shake the thoughts away. Fai couldn't hurt a fly. "I mean, why in the middle of the woods?" I asked.

"Because." He stated tersely. He pushed branches out of his way, making me shove my way past them as well. "Watch your arm." He warned me. He pulled me into the middle of a clearing, and instantly, memories of the night I 'activated' my magic flooded my mind. I gasped, and turned around to run away, but Fai grabbed my good arm and said, "If you want me to heal you, you have to stay here."

I was on the brink of tears. Maybe it was because I was afraid. Or maybe it was because I didn't like the memories. Or maybe it was because my arm was hurting even more. I guessed it was a mixture of all three. "What do you mean, _heal?" _My voice cracked, and I tried to stop the tears from spilling over my cheeks.

Fai saw that I was crying, and gently wiped the tears away with his thumb, stroking my face lightly. "It's alright. Don't be afraid." He sighed as he said, "I vowed that I would never use my magic again, but if it is for the purpose of healing you," He looked at me forlornly. "then I will use it." I got the strange feeling he wasn't going to use his magic to heal me, anyways.

_He shouldn't have to use his magic just to heal _me,_ especially if he vowed never to use it again…_ I thought. Fai prepared to heal my wound, and I blurted out, "Wait! No, you don't need to use magic. Really. We can just use a splint or something." I said, pulling two twigs off of a bush, and tearing a piece of cloth from the bottom of my shirt. "Like this." I took the twigs and rubbed them together, sanding them down so that they wouldn't splinter me. I cringed, as it hurt when I moved my arm. I pressed one of the twigs on the top side of my arm, and the other on the bottom side of my arm, and wrapped the cloth around them tightly with my mouth. "There. That will do fine." I saw the worried expression in Fai's eyes, and said, "But don't worry. It's just temporary." Somehow, he looked rather relieved that he didn't need to use magic.

He sighed. "I hope that you'll be okay." He looked at me for a long, sad moment, and then turned away, looking straight in to the woods. I got the feeling that he wasn't as worried about my arm as he was about something else. I walked in front of him, and stared into his eyes. They had frosted over, and I knew he was lost in thought.

"You can't use your magic to heal people, can you?" I asked. I didn't know what had come over me; I didn't think, I just..._did._ "I mean, I got the feeling you weren't going to heal my arm with _your_ magic, you were going to use _mine_. If I had any." I was unsure, but somewhere in my mind, I knew it was true. He wouldn't be able to heal me.

He looked at me, the distant look in his eyes was even more prominent, now. When he answered, it was as if he was in a trance. "You are absolutely right." He didn't seem to want to dwell on the subject, and looked away guiltily.

Even though I was boiling with fury, I concealed it from leaking into my voice. I changed the subject to make him more comfortable. "Fai?" I said, trying to grab his attention. He turned to me, but still had that cloudy look in his eyes. "What does it mean to have a very 'controllable' name?" I asked, remembering what he and Arashi had spoken about earlier.

Fai instantly snapped back to reality. His eyes were full of fear and something along the lines of anger, though it was barely noticeable. "You heard that?!" He asked, grabbing my shoulders with great force, knocking the wind out of me for a moment. I nodded meekly. "When?" He shook his head; he already knew when. "_How?"_ He tried instead.

"I-I…I was awake! I heard you and Arashi talking about it!" I stammered. _Oh, shoot. If I had known he was going to react like _that_, then I wouldn't have said it._ I shook my head. "Never mind it, then! I'm sorry I ever brought it up!" I said.

Fai let go of my shoulders, and walked to the other end of the clearing. He put his head in his hands. "How?" I tilted my head in confusion. "How much did you hear?" He asked, spinning around on his heels and advancing on me again. This time, I backed away, because he had a look of complete anger in his eyes. It was no longer that innocent, frightened confusion.

"Not much! I swear! That was all I heard!" I lied. _This isn't right. Why would he freak out like that? _"I promise I didn't hear anything else! I fell asleep afterwards!" I tried to convince him. Apparently, my 'convincing' act wasn't so convincing. He was approaching me, his strides getting longer with every step he took. I was going to turn and run, but then I noticed that he no longer seemed furious, instead, he had that same look of sadness he always wore. Sadness, not for himself, it seemed, but for me. Because of the look of sadness, I stopped trying to run away, and stood in place, bracing myself for whatever was to come.

I feared the worst. Maybe he would hit me, or something like that. I doubted it; it just didn't seem in his nature. Fai was much to kind and sensitive to do such a thing as that. I still worried, though. It wasn't right of me to listen in on their conversation and not tell them. So I waited for the inevitable moment when he would do…something. But instead of violent nature, he hugged me, and mumbled into my shoulder, "You heard it all." He said. And then he let me go.

I stood there, dumbstruck, my mouth hanging open from brass hinges. Was that _all?_ I expected much more. I expected him to give me a long, boring lecture about how I shouldn't eavesdrop or whatever. But he didn't. He hugged me for about two seconds, and spoke a simple sentence. That was _it._

"Let's head back." He said. "Do you know where they might be?" He asked.

"Yeah…" I said in a daze. I _did_ know where they were. The power of Sakura's feather was so distinct that I could track it down to any place in the world. I sort of pushed my way out of the woods and began walking in the direction of the feather. I didn't really care about what would happen next. All I could think about were the events in that day. When I heard Fai and Arashi's conversation, I knew my name was no joking matter. But when Fai freaked out over me hearing it, I knew there was something more to my name than just pure power. _It's not just that my true name is powerful…It's something else, too. But why would Fai react like that? _I wondered, racking my brain for answers. _Maybe because he knows something that I don't. What does he know?_

I ignored the pain in my arm as I clawed my way through the woods, slowly making my way towards the village. The two of us made our way out into the marketplace. It was already getting dark, which motivated me to pick up the pace. The townspeople were cleaning up their booths, putting away whatever produce they were trying to sell. The life-saving red-and-white tent was gone. I turned a corner, and Fai ran to catch up to me. "Where are you going?" I did not respond. I was too absorbed in my thoughts. I turned on another street, a more residential area. The feather was in one of the houses on that street; I could feel it. As we headed towards Syaoran, Kurogane, and Sakura, I found that there was only one question that came to mind.

_My name…_ I thought. _What's so powerful about my name?_

Maybe I shouldn't have asked that question. Maybe it wouldn't make a difference. Was the question one that was really worth asking? All I know is that by the time the answer had come around, I had no idea of what had hit me. And that made all the difference.


	12. What's There to Believe?

_Hiya! Alright, so I've finally come out with this chapter. This one is basically when they meet Chunyan, and it's got a little surprise at the end, which I hope you like. DO NOT JUMP TO THE END, OR YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! So, anyways, today's chapter is dedicated to my friend Margaret, again, who is very into this story. I would also like to dedicate it to WildfireDreams, who is a new reader and apparently likes my story so far. Thank you! The next dedication goes to FE Girl 1, who offers good praise and is also fun to talk to. And finally, I would like to dedicate this chapter to GundamGirlie456. I'm sorry I haven't responded to your request!_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Tsubasa Chronicles. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders. (except for Izumi, who's all mine, DUH)**_

**_Izumi: Yeah, I get it already. But I wanna know my name already! HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO TAKE?_**

**_Me: Just shut up already will you? You don't write the story, I do, so sit tight and read it, get it?!_**

* * *

Fai stood by my side as we walked silently down the street. Every once in a while, he would turn his head to look at me, but I would only stare straight forward, never looking back, never looking to the side. At last, he shattered the silence that smothered us. "You can sense the feather, can't you?" He asked me. I did not answer immediately. I kept on taking long strides towards the huge mass of magic I felt ahead. The feather was nearby. But though I concentrated on where the source of the magic was, I devoted most of my brain to thinking about Fai's actions. _Ok…So first off, he 'feels like it is his duty to protect me'. What the heck is that supposed to mean?! _It was a real brain teaser, trying to understand Fai while at the same time trying to find out about myself. _And then, he says he feels a strange connection to me, like he's known me from before or whatever. _I tried to fit the two thoughts together, like fitting two pieces of a puzzle together, but they didn't fit. There was a missing link, quite clearly. I divided up the thoughts in my mind into two piles; one pile for the thoughts that were Fai-related, and the other pile to thoughts that were me-related. _So for me, Arashi said that even though I gave my name up to the dimension witch, the dark kudan still came to me, anyways. And Fai says that I cannot control my magic on my own. _I was utterly, genuinely confused. That's what was so frustrating about it all.

"Izumi-san," Fai said suddenly, making me jump. I looked at him, upset that he had distracted me from thinking. _I was getting sort of close…_ I turned to him, and listened as he continued. "Why don't you tell us that you know where the feathers are?" He asked me, striking a nerve. His cerulean eyes were dead serious.

"What do you mean?" I snarled. I sounded harsher than I meant to. I wasn't actually mad at _him_, I only wished I had some more time to myself. "How would you know that I know where the feathers are?" I asked, making it sound as though I _didn't_ know where the feathers were, which was a lie.

"It's just…Take right now, for instance. You seem to know exactly where you're going, so if you _can't _sense the feathers, then I have no idea of how you know where Syaoran, Kuro-tan, and Sakura-chan are." He said. I processed his words in my mind. It was a challenge, for I hadn't realized what the ability to sense feathers meant before now. _Wait…Why _don't_ I tell them that I can sense the feathers? _I wondered.

I shrugged. "I guess…I guess it's because I already know that it's Mokona's job. I'd feel guilty for telling them. Mokona might feel left out." I stated confidently.

A strange look crossed Fai's face. "Don't use Mokona as an excuse. There's more to it." Fai said, his voice on the brink of…not anger…something else. _Embezzlement, maybe. Confusion, uncertainty, puzzlement. _"Please tell me?" Fai asked, his eyes suddenly pleading me, though his body language was sullen as ever.

I crossed my arms and pouted. "Hmph. Should I?" I cooed mockingly. "Maybe I should. But then again, maybe I shouldn't." Fai looked upset and impatient, so I decided to be serious about it. I straightened my shirt and cleared my throat, speaking to him as I walked forward, turning to face him occasionally. "Look, I'll make a deal with you. If I tell you why I don't tell them, then you'll have to tell me why you gave up magic, whether I'm 'old enough' or not." I said, using what he told me back in the Hanshin Republic to my advantage. "Take it or leave it."

Fai shut up for the rest of the walk to the little cottage. He obviously didn't want to tell me anything, just as I didn't want to tell him anything. We continued to walk as we had before he had asked me the question: in complete, suffocating silence. I was actually rather happy that he didn't decide to trade secrets with me; _I_ didn't even know why I didn't tell the group. _Maybe it's because I wasn't really aware of the fact that I could sense the feathers in the first place._

"It's here." I said, walking up to the front door of a house. The house looked humble on the outside, as if the owner did not have much money. But then again, most of the houses there did not look very grand or magnificent. The only one that did was a castle that could be seen in the distance. I tapped on the door three times, and when nobody answered, I let myself in. It didn't occur to me that it might have been rude to do so.

The brave girl who had mocked the Ryanban's son, Chunyan, was kneeling on the floor, drilling Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan with questions. Fai and I arrived in the middle of their conversation. "…we just got here…and we've only just met you." Syaoran looked extremely nervous, while as Sakura-chan sat upright, not seeming to understand but at the same time acting perky.

"Are you sure?" Chunyan leaned in close to Syaoran, making him shift uncomfortably. She eyed him critically, as he tried to back away from her, twiddling with his thumbs anxiously.

"I can't…say that…I do." He said slowly and unsurely. He glanced around the room, and when he saw us sitting in the corner, he immediately turned back to Chunyan, as if to keep her from noticing us. Every once in a while, he would look in my direction, eying the very primitive cast on my arm.

"Now that I think about it…children like you _couldn't_ be Amen'osa, _could_ you?" Chunyan folded her arms. She still hadn't noticed Fai and I, and I didn't much care as to whether or not she ever did.

"What's Amen'osa?" Fai asked, completely blowing our cover. I smacked my hand over my forehead with one arm, elbowing him in the stomach with the other. "Hey, what was that for?" Fai whispered to me. I hushed him.

At first Chunyan jumped back at the sight of the two strangers in her house, but Syaoran let her know that we were with them. She relaxed a little, and her expression became skeptical, as if we were stupid idiots for not knowing what this 'Amen'osa' was. "Amen'osa is a small group of agents the government sends around the country." She informed us. All of us travelers listened intently; this was the kind of thing we liked to hear about. _I_ liked to hear about, at least. Kurogane showed little interest. Chunyan continued. "They know that some of the Ryanban are acting in their own selfish interest in the regions they control…they know some of them are obsessed." Her eyes were fiery with a victory that was yet to be seen or heard of, like Amen'osa were her gods. "They travel around the country on a mission to right those wrongs."

Suddenly, Mokona jumped up, elated. "It's Mito-komon!" It exclaimed cheerfully. I yelped when it landed on my shoulder unexpectedly, and tried to swat it off. Man, that thing sticks like _glue_. Eventually, I picked it up and plopped it on the floor, gratefully watching as it skipped over to Syaoran, who picked it up.

"Mito?" Sakura's voice was tentative. I didn't completely understand what 'Mito-komon' was either, but I had a vague idea of it.

"I think it's the other…er…Mokona thing…You see, the witch who gave us Mokona keeps another one, which is our way of communicating with each other. That's why there's two of them." I explained. Sakura gave a gentle nod, though I knew she didn't fully understand me. I pointed to Mokona. "You'll get it soon."

Chunyan had a disgusted look on her face. "I've been wondering this for a while, but…what is that? Why would a white Manju bun speak?" She asked, poking Mokona. She pulled her hand back, revolted at the feeling of it.

Mokona gave his usual answer. "Mokona is Mokona!" It jumped up, startling all of us for a few moments. Chunyan's pretty features were distorted by repulsion.

Fai noticed this, and offered, "Think of Mokona as our mascot or idol." He turned his attention back to the original topic. "So you think we're this…Amen'osa…um…" He groped for words, searching his memory for her name.

"Chunyan." The girl stated, dusting the hem of her yukata and pushing her hair behind her ears. It flopped in her face again, so she tied it up, making sure the knot was tight this time.

"Chunyan-chan, huh?" Fai smiled cheerily, though he gave off a strange aura that was quite the opposite of cheer. "Well, my name's Fai." He poked his thumb at his chest, indicating he was talking about himself, as if we didn't already know. "This is Syaoran-kun." He gave a gesture to Syaoran. "We have Sakura-chan over there." He motioned towards Sakura-chan. "And this is Izumi-san." For a moment, his bright, sunny features were replaced by a darker side, his grin flipping around into a dissatisfied frown. But almost immediately, his joy came back to him. "Oh! And finally, Kuro-puu!" He pointed to Kurogane.

"That's _'Kurogane'!"_ The black-clad warrior shouted angrily. He humphed, and returned to his pout-mouthed expression.

I sensed something…strong. _Very_ strong. It was not as powerful as Sakura's feather, no, but it had traces of its magic. Somebody had harnessed the feather's power, and was using it to his own will. Strangely, Mokona didn't seem to notice, and I argued with myself whether I should tell the group or not. Fai caught my troubled expression, and looked at me, nodding solemnly. His movements told me, _No, you don't have to,_ but his eyes said otherwise. He was not very good at pretending.

Fai turned back to Chunyan when he was sure I wouldn't tell them. "In other words…for you to wish that this Amen'osa would come, that must mean you think this leader of yours is a bad man." He stated like he was suddenly the wise guy. Sometimes, I wasn't sure what to believe. _He always acts innocent and kind and…well…dumb…but he knows much more than we think he does…_ I reasoned.

The magic was getting closer. It was so powerful that I knew that it was coming straight for us. I stood up, wanting to blurt out, _There's something coming!_ And I almost did, but no words came. I stood and listened to Chunyan as she spoke. "He's the worst." Chunyan bit her lip nervously, as if fighting back tears. "He took my omoni, my mother, and—" The magic was right on top of us now. It came in the form of a harsh wind, and rattled the windowpanes. The shutters clattered against the glass windows, making everyone in the room stand up.

"Is that the wind?" Fai asked uncertainly. _He seems to know what it is… and it's _definitely_ not your average breeze._ I thought.

Chunyan gasped in dread, and spun around on her heels, facing us. "Everybody, you _can't_ go outside!" She yelled, and we all nodded, knowing that there would be more to come. I could still feel the strong magic in the air. _That little gust of wind wasn't even the worst of it…_ I cringed in fear, feeling as the magic built to another strong point. Somewhere inside me, I felt as though I was adding to the strength of this magic, and guilt crashed upon my innards, making it difficult to breathe. I knew it wasn't true, though. The wind howled, and smashed into the roof, breaking a hole through it. The power was stronger now than it had been before, and it was only then that I realized how much of the magic from Sakura's feather was actually mixed in with it. _There's a lot…somebody's got their hands on her feather, and is really taking advantage of its power._ I could only guess who it was.

The wind pounded on the roof again, chipping away at it until there was barely anything left of it. Fai grabbed onto Mokona, holding it close to him protectively. Syaoran and Sakura huddled close to each other, leaving me with no protection but my own limbs. I did the dumbest thing possible, and measured up to the wind, squaring my shoulders and holding my chin high; as if I thought I could take it on. It seemed to see me as a threat, so it attacked me directly, swirling around my body fiercely. Though it was trying to attack me, something about it made me feel comfortable. _It feels…warm…_ I closed my eyes, and spread my arms, wanting to cherish the moment. I felt so free.

"Izumi-san! Take cover!" Fai yelled at me, breaking my concentration for the second time that day. I looked in his direction, wondering what he was rambling about, and not taking notice to the huge gust of wind that had come straight for me. "_Izumi-san! Watch out!" _Fai and Kurogane yelled in unison. I turned back to face the wind, and it slammed me right in the face, knocking me backwards.

And then the most amazing thing happened. Something I could do when I was younger, when I still had my magic. The wind pushed me back, and I danced on it, flipping backwards and letting the silky smoothness of it all slide between my fingers. The world slowed down to my pace, a very slow speed. I was upside down, doing some sort of kung-fu move people see in old movies. The wind went away, as if it was frustrated that it couldn't beat me, and I completed the flip and landed on my feet. I didn't even realize what had happened, until Sakura-chan gasped, "How did you do that, Izumi-san?"

"What?" I asked, my mind fogged up, as if the wind had blown away my focus. "I…I don't know…" I hit the side of my head. "I thought it was just my imagination." Sakura shook her head.

_Umm…_My mind raced furiously. _What just happened? What in the world just happened!? I…I was in the wind…like it was holding me, not killing me…But doesn't it require magic to do that?!_ Those were thoughts I pushed out of my mind for the moment; I would have to analyze them later.

Fai spoke softly, and his voice was ominous and dark. "That was no ordinary wind…" His attention was to the sky, which could be seen through the gaping hole in the middle of Chunyan's roof.

"It was the Ryanban." Chunyan said, her face shadowed, tears brimming her eyelids. She shouted up at the sky angrily. "He's the one who did it all!"

* * *

Chunyan had taken an immediate liking to me. She took me to bandage up my arm, so that it would heal properly. She told me that there was no way it was going to heal the way it was bandaged at the moment. She seemed to know what she was doing, but it _hurt._ First, she told me she would have to 'reset my arm'. I didn't understand what that meant until she took my arm and moved the broken bone back into place, and I was sure my arm would split open when she did it.

Her eyes were still filled with a deep sadness and hatred. _Vengeance, too._ I thought, noting that she obviously wanted to kill the Ryanban. I felt bad for her, so I struck up a conversation with her, and it became the beginning of a great friendship. She and I chatted until it was very late. We talked about random things. We told each other secrets about ourselves, like we were two old friends at a sleepover. Even though she was almost ten years younger than me, she was the best friend I had ever had. I was grateful for her existence.

When it was time for bed, she gave us rooms to sleep in, which was very kind and generous of her. Fai, Syaoran, and Kurogane were to sleep in the same room, which resulted in a very upset Kurogane. At first, she was going to have me sleep in the same room as Sakura, but I said, "I would love to, but I have a lot on my mind right now. Could I have some time alone?"

Chunyan replied, "Well…I don't know…" I got down on my knees and begged, giving her my best impression of a sweet, innocent little orphan girl. This wasn't hard, because I was one (at least the orphan part). A look of pity crossed her face, and she said, "Alright. Fine, just because I like you a lot. I'll let Sakura-chan sleep in my room, kay?" She asked.

I glomped her, hugging her so tight that she had difficulties breathing. "Oh, thank you so much! I really appreciate it!" I rocked her in my arms.

Chunyan peeled my arms off of her. "Yeah, yeah. But on one condition." I tilted my head in confusion. "You have to help with some housework tomorrow, get it?" She poked me.

"I promise!" I gave her a thumbs up, before heading up to the room.

I opened the sliding door, just as the lights in the house went out, and the others disappeared into their rooms. "Good night, Izumi-san." Fai said, allowing Syaoran and Kurogane to go into the room before closing the door behind them. I didn't get a chance to respond. Chunyan and Sakura giggled as they walked past me into their room, and I smiled as they did.

My room was a comfy tatami room, standard Japanese. In one corner, there was a mat, which looked soft enough. I flopped my knapsack on the bed and took out the large T-shirt and baggy sweatpants I slept in when we were in the Hanshin republic. I quickly threw them on, making sure nobody came into the room, and climbed into the bed. It was warm, and I knew I would not have much difficulty sleeping here tonight. A sleep without nightmares...I wasn't so sure. At last, I could think.

I stared up at the ceiling, putting my hands behind my head, questioning my theories, testing them out. None of them seemed to fit in my life, and none of it made sense to me. _What if I never find out who I am? _I wondered, as dark thoughts mobbed me. _What if I'll always be just the worthless, stupid, cursed orphan I am? _Tears spilled down my face. I closed my eyes and tried to visualize my real parents; maybe they'd open up some secrets about my past. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Frustrated and upset, I threw the blanket off of me and hurled the pillow into the opposite wall of the room. It landed with a surprisingly loud, _thud._ Apparently, I was a lot stronger than I thought I was when I was angry. I trudged to the other side of the room and bent over to pick it up. I looked at it for a good minute, before collapsing to the floor, crying my heart out into the pillow, hoping it would muffle my sobs. _Why can't I just be a normal girl? One with a loving family and friends, one that actually _remembers_ her past. One that knows her own name…_ I let out an anguished scream into the pillow, and luckily, nobody seemed to complain.

I dragged my feet over to the window, and propped myself up on the windowsill. I buried my face deep into the feathery comfort of the pillow, and continued to cry. _If my parents loved me…they wouldn't have left me to a horrible life like this. _I immediately felt guilty for thinking it. I hated my parents for dying. I hated myself for blaming them.

I had a choice to make. _I can just kill myself now…or I can live through this misery, and find out about my past. _If_ I have a past. _I cursed my life, even though it was cursed enough already. I cursed my parents, even though they were dead. I swore at the sun and the moon, and I didn't even care about it all. _Damn it all. I hate this stupid life! _I screamed again, kicking my feet against the wall madly, this time not caring whether anybody heard or not. Nobody did.

I don't know how long I sat like that, crying and screaming and kicking. I didn't care much, either. At least it was still dark out when I finally looked up. It was only then that I realized how tired I was. I rolled off the windowsill and crawled carelessly to the mat, where I lay the pillow down and slumped into it. _Damn sleep. Damn it all to hell. _I roared in my mind.

A gentle knock came on the door. I refused to open the door for whoever wanted to come in. I lay still, ignoring the slight disturbance. I couldn't ignore it for long, as a voice, Fai's, spoke softly, "Izumi-san…can I talk to you?"

I hesitated, unsure as to whether or not I should let him in. I decided that I should, and let out a heavy sigh as I said, "Come in."

Fai walked into the room. He took one look at my face and concluded, "You're having a tough time. You're crying." He reached out to wipe the tears off my face, but I slapped his hand away with my good arm. "Izumi…It's alright now." He hugged me, and I let him. I buried my face in his chest, sobbing. "Izumi-san, you need to know something."

I looked up. "What's that?" I choked out.

He hugged me tighter as he said, "I…I've…" Fai had been speaking just fine earlier, but now, it seemed as though he was at a loss for words. He cleared his throat, rethinking his words, and started over. "Izumi-san, ever since I've met you…I've felt something…strange. You really are different from most girls I've met."

I snorted sarcastically. "Yeah, thanks for that." I mumbled into his chest. I was glad he couldn't see me; I was hiding a smile.

"No, that's definitely not what I mean…I know you've been through, well, a lot. I can really sympathize with you there. I've had my share of difficulties." He tilted my chin up so that I was looking at him. I shifted my eyes away to avoid looking into his eyes. That would be too awkward. "And it's because I know about how you feel, that I've felt strangely connected to you…like…"

I cut him off before he could finish his sentence. I knew what he had to say, and I wouldn't know how I would respond. "You have no idea of how much I know. Or I can guess, at least." I was referring to my dream, the one about him. I hadn't told him yet, but if I was ever planning to, this would be the time. "I…I know about you. I know about who you are, Yuuy."

Fai stiffened immediately. "What do you mean by that?" He pushed me away from him lightly holding my shoulders and looking straight at me. I avoided his gaze.

"A dream."

Fai looked at me curiously. "How much do you know?" He asked, his voice quivering slightly. "About…my past."

"A lot more than you'd think." I said guiltily. "It's not my fault, though. I told you, it was a dream. I saw…I know about your twin, Fai. I know how Fei Wong Reed freed you and killed your brother. And I know about how King Ashura came to save you. And I know where you hid Sakura's feather."

If I were him, I would have hated to hear that somebody knew about my secret past. But he relaxed for some reason, and held me closer to him again. "There's no hiding anything from you, is there?" He chuckled nervously. "Not at all."

I didn't want to dwell on the subject, so tried to think of something else to talk about. _Anything else…I hate knowing about him! It makes me feel so…guilty. Like I'm a spy or something. _"So what were you going to say? Before I cut you off…I mean." I blurted out, not realizing what topic I had brought back.

Fai looked down. "Oh." He said. "It's just…I feel like I know you from somewhere before…before I met you at the dimension witch's place. I don't know how, or where, for that matter, but it's as if…" He stopped. "I can't tell you. It'll make you feel weird."

"Say it." I urged. For some reason, even though I had been trying to avoid this conversation, I wanted him to tell me. Some part of me felt the same way.

"As if we…" He paused. I nudged him lightly to indicate that he should continue. "As if we were meant to be…together." He said. The words came out rushed, but I knew he meant it.

Even though I would never have admitted it, I was thrilled.


	13. Truth

_Holaz! I got this chapter out fast, huh? That's what happens when I think of something interesting. I need to rush forward! Ok, so for today's dedications: First and foremost, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my friend Margaret, because she was there when I typed it. I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to NekoFai, who gives great reviews and is writing a FaixOC fic, too (YAY!). And finally, I'd like to dedicate it to Tuliharja for reviewing._

_The first part of this chapter is another one of Izumi's strange dreams. Yeah, if you think the past chapters were confusing, try your best to keep up here, ok? Actually, this one isn't _as_ confusing as the others. The second half of this chapter is when Chu'nyan takes the group out into the town. Hope you enjoy it!_

_~Sakura_

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa or any of its characters other than Izumi and possibly other OC's in future chapters. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders. Enjoy!_**

* * *

This is how my dream turned out tonight. Unlike the past few dreams I had had, this one I witnessed from the outside looking in. It was no longer a dream where the world revolved around me; it was a dream where I had no choice but to watch the life of another person. Though it was an interesting story, I still felt as though this vivid dream seemed to have no point. Somewhere in my mind, I knew it had some meaning, that there was something it had to tell me. At the time, I didn't find the matter too important, just interesting. As long as the story didn't regard me, it was insignificant to my life, right?

* * *

_A girl sat in a cozy little room beside a fireplace. In her hands, she held a book, though it was closed. Her elbow rested on it, as if she used it as a stabilizer. Her features were slightly angled; she was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and her short, layered hair hung around her shoulders, its auburn color shimmering gold in the firelight. In the room were two other people: one of them was an older woman, maybe about in her late twenties or early thirties, and beside her sat a man who looked about her age. All of their faces looked extremely familiar, but the dream distorted my memories, making it impossible to recall who these people were. _

_Their words were faint, but grew louder for each second I watched this group of people. The girl spoke. "So, wait. You're trying to tell _me_ that my life will be changed forever? That makes absolutely no sense." She was arrogant, though she had a very kind-hearted tone in her voice as well. "I don't get it. My life has been changed enough, what with everything that's been going on around here." She set her book down on the coffee table in front of her, and leaned back into her chair. It looked as though it would swallow her whole._

_The man and the woman looked at each other, exchanging cautious expressions. It was the woman who spoke. "Yes, child. Your life will drastically change. You are a sorceress, a powerful magician. Naturally, you will be the first one to be affected." She smiled a little, knowing something about the girl, who was beginning to get nervous. "You were also given the ability to see things, yes?" _

"_Yes. The ability to see the past and to predict the future. He gave me that ability." She pointed to the man sitting next to the lady. The woman gave the man a venomous glare, but the man shrugged innocently. The girl stood up. "Would you like some tea?" She asked, already heading to the kitchen without waiting for an answer. "Jasmine or Green?" She called from the other room._

"_Jasmine." Replied the woman politely._

"_Green." The man stated rather curtly._

_As soon as they could hear the girl place the kettle on the stove, they knew she wasn't listening. The woman leaned forward and hissed at the man, poison dripping from her tongue. "Listen. _You_ gave her the ability to see the past and the future. Why would you do such a thing? If you hadn't had done what you did, we wouldn't have to be here right now. Her life would never have been affected!"_

_The man sighed, unwilling to speak to such a nagging woman. "That's the way things are going to happen. If she must suffer, then she must suffer. All we can do about it is prepare her for what's to come, like what we are doing now." The man spoke as though he didn't know what was going to happen, and didn't much care._

_The girl walked clumsily back into the room, trying to balance the two plates at once. Tea spilled over the brims of the cups, but she managed to set the plates down on the coffee table before the tea cups were completely drained of liquid. The two guests managed a humble, 'Thank you'. The girl smiled and said warmly, "You're welcome. So, what's so important about my…er…'visions'?" The girl questioned inquisitively._

_The woman picked up her china cup, and began sipping her tea with incredible etiquette. Her voice was calm, but mysterious all the same. "We know something about your visions, Takahashi." The girl stood stock still, cocking her head to the side, as if surprised that the woman had addressed her by her last name. "I am willing to bet that you had a vision about a boy, named Syaoran Li."_

_The girl looked deep in thought for a few moments, trying to remember. She sat down in her chair to think, as her visions were many these days, and it was hard to keep track of them all. But finally, she looked up, with a look of new discovery on her face. "Actually…I do remember that one. The boy…this, 'Syaoran'…there was something about a clone, and something about his left eye, or something." The girl responded. The name, Syaoran, rang a bell to me, but in my dreams, I did not have a clue of who it belonged to. "And yes, I saw a wizard. Tall, blond, and with blue eyes. There was something about his eye, too…" The girl stood up suddenly, growing excited as she remembered more. "There was another man, a ninja, from the country of Japan."_

_The man and the woman looked at each other, and the woman seemed surprised that the girl knew so much. Her visions were more accurate than the woman had predicted they would be. The man, on the other hand, seemed to have known exactly how powerful her visions were, as he was the one who granted her the ability to see them in the first place. The woman spoke again. "The three of them will be comrades. They are destined to travel with each other." _

_The girl nodded knowingly. "Yes, I know about that, too, although I don't quite remember what the quest is for…" When the woman did not supply an answer, she shrugged, and said, "Oh well. But, what has this vision got to do with me?" The girl asked. "This particular vision?"_

_The woman turned to the man, desperate for an answer. The man leaned forward, placing his cup down on the table and resting his elbows on his knees. "It won't have much to do with you…_yet_." He said. When he saw the look of utter bewilderment on the girl's face, he continued. "Your job is to stay out of this, do you understand? If you don't, your life will be changed, as we told you it would be." His face was serious, and almost scary._

"_Stay out of it…" The girl repeated dumbly. "So, what's that supposed to mean?"_

"_It means, don't have any more visions on the matter. The more you know, the more twisted your life will become." The man warned her. "Something terrible will happen if you don't obey, so I suggest you stop having your visions."_

_The girl looked stunned, but her expression morphed into one of confusion. "How do you expect me to stop having visions? You bestowed the gift upon me. I can't just…stop."_

"_True. But as long as you only get visions in your sleep, there is an easy way out of it. Don't sleep." The man and the woman stood up, heading for the door. The man put on his coat, and the woman opened up her umbrella, and together they stepped out into the rain, saluting the girl as they went. She sat there, shocked, and never responded to the two of them. Not like she had anything to say. The door shut behind the two mysterious strangers, and that was the last she ever saw of them._

"_Yeah." The girl said, long after they were gone. "Thanks."_

* * *

I heard a loud, unruly clatter come from above. It sounded as if an elephant was stomping on the roof. I opened my eyes, careful about the bright light, and noticed that Fai was gone. I got up clumsily and looked out the window. I couldn't see anything from this side of the house, so decided to go check out what was going on. I threw on the clothes that Chu'nyan had left for me, and scurried outside, not bothering to tidy up my hair.

Fai was standing outside, coaching Kurogane, who was working on the hole in the roof. Somehow, it didn't surprise me that they were arguing. "Why do I have to work on somebody else's house?" Kurogane roared.

"She let us stay over at her place last night. It's only natural, isn't it?" He Fai asked. It was great that he was considerate towards others. Kurogane seemed to hate the idea of Fai telling him what to do, and I sniggered. Fai saw me, and turned to face me. "Hey, Izumi-san! So, how did you sleep?" He asked cheerily, as though he had completely forgotten about the whole incident the night before.

"Fine. No nightmares, luckily." I played along. "I did have a weird dream, though…it was about this girl who could see the past and the future, and she was having a conversation with this man and this woman. I can't remember who they are, or what they were talking about." I said sadly. "I wish I could, though…"

Fai smiled. "That sounds like an interesting dream. Very interesting. I'd like to hear about what happens next." He seemed so sure that there was going to be more to the dream, too. I wasn't convinced. "Hey, Chu'nyan's waiting in the house. She says she has some housework for you to do. Laundry and stuff like that."

"Sounds good to me. I made a promise to her, anyways." I waved good-bye to them, calling out, "Good luck!" I hurried back into the house, though I swear that I could hear Kurogane yelling, "Who needs luck from _you?!"_

It took me a couple of walks around the house to find Chu'nyan. I checked every single room, except for the backyard. That's where I ended up finding her. The yard was small, and was pretty much a dirt yard. Little shrubs and weeds poked up from the dirt, even them barely surviving. Chu'nyan was cleansing clothes off in a huge wash basin, hanging them on the clothesline when they were ready to dry. I ran over to help, and she looked up. "Oh, so you're finally awake, huh?" She laughed. "Come on. I'll wash, you just hang them up on the rack, ok? Just so you don't have to get your broken arm wet." I have to admit, I was impressed by the way she took care of herself, and us, for that matter. I saw my clothing in the tub, as well.

"No, it's not ok. Just go back in the house and relax. Kuro-pin's fixing the roof, and Fai's supervising him. I feel guilty for being the only lazy bum around here. I'll take care of it all for you, ok?" I said, not wanting to be a burden. Though she tried to object, I shoved her back into the house, and closed the door. I decided it was a generous thing to do the laundry for her.

I turned back to the wash tub, and began cleaning the clothes, but Chu'nyan had marched right back outside and began washing them with me. I sighed, but gave in; she washed and I dried. We worked in silence for awhile, but Chu'nyan was the first to speak. "So…Izumi-san…are you a fan of fortune telling?"

I looked at her suspiciously. _What in the world made her think that?_ "Not particularly…no." I said carefully, trying to make sure that she was not leading me into a trap. "Why do you ask?"

Chu'nyan ruffled through my jeans and pulled out a scrap of paper. "Because I found this in your pocket." She held the paper out to me. It was slightly yellowed, and burnt around the edges, giving it an Arabic look about it, and it was so delicate that it would tear immediately if pulled at opposite ends. It was folded into fourths, and I never would have noticed it in my pocket; it was so small.

I carefully unfolded the little piece of paper, and read it in my head. _The past is the key to what lies ahead. Whatever happened in the past will determine what will happen in the future. _I didn't really understand the fortune; all I knew was that there was a new urgency to find out what had happened in my past. Like the fortune said, I _needed _to know the past, or I wouldn't be able to live a life in complete happiness. Ever. _My past can change my life around. If I know what happened to me, then I'd know who I am, and what my name is…_

Chu'nyan snapped me out of my trance when she said, "Here, put these up on the clothesline, please." She handed my jeans to me, and I pinned them up. We continued to work in dead silence for a while, but I was no longer completely focused on my task, as I couldn't help but to dwell on the fortune. _If only I knew more…_

* * *

Chu'nyan held hands with Sakura as we strolled through the streets of the country of Koryo. Our current location was the town of Ryonfi, a charming little village, inhabited by kind and loving people, who had gone through many hardships. Though it was a beautiful country, it reminded me of home, and so I found myself more attracted to the Hanshin Republic. Though Sakura, Fai, and Chu'nyan seemed to be having a blast, I kept my face serious, as it was hard to walk down streets that seemed so like my home's. Kurogane trailed behind us reluctantly, and Syaoran had his mind on only one thing: the feather. It didn't occur to us three that we could lighten up and enjoy the beautiful day here.

As we made our way into the central part of the town, Syaoran asked Mokona, "Do you feel a power wave from a feather?" I froze, and stopped in my tracks. _Great. On top of the fact that I don't have a single clue of who I am, Syaoran has to stress me out by making me feel guilty. Beautiful. _I unhappily caught up to the group again.

Mokona looked down glumly. "Mokona can't tell." My heart jumped; it was weird that he couldn't sense the feather. _That's strange…_ I thought. Mokona continued. "Throughout this whole country…Mokona feels it filled with a weird power!" Mokona looked slightly dizzy. _Wait…how come I know exactly where the feather is, but he doesn't? _I asked. My mind whirled so fast, you could almost hear the gears turning. _It's in that castle…_ I thought, referring to the grand castle on the hill not far away. _But that's obvious, isn't it? _Again, I felt a wave of shame overwhelm me, and I felt faint. I wondered what made it so that I could feel the feather but Mokona couldn't. It was right—there _was_ a weird power resonating throughout the country, but the power of the feather seemed to stand above it all. _I wonder…if my past has anything to do with one of those feathers? _I quickly shook the thought away. _No, if that was true, then I would _definitely_ remember it. You'd think that seeing one of these feathers would ring a bell, maybe bring back some memories from the past, right?_

A man who was standing beneath one of the white tents shouted, "Ho, Chu'nyan, you're dragging an outsider around town, huh?" He called, waving to Chu'nyan, who picked up her pace and led the rest of us to follow her closer to the stranger.

Chu'nyan seemed to know the man, along with several other people in the tent, who were all gathered around a table. "They're guests! They came from a long way!" She announced proudly to the humble-looking group of men.

"Oho! Travelers! Will you join us?" One of the men asked, pointing to the table. I noticed two dice lying in a bowl on the table; they were gambling, but in a friendly way.

"What is this?" Syaoran asked, leaning over one of the men's shoulders to get a better view.

The man laughed heartily, as if he thought Syaoran was joking. When he saw Syaoran's stone-like expression, he coughed lightly and said, "It's called Negi. Don't you know about it?"

Syaoran nodded meekly. "I've seen something very much the same at one point." He said, adding, "They're called 'Saikoro' where I come from." He said, looking at the dice intently.

"Yeah?" I asked. "Well, it's called 'Gambling' where I come from." I joked. I didn't mean for anybody to laugh, and luckily, nobody did. Instead, they gave me nasty glares. "What? That's basically it, isn't it? You try your luck, and whoever wins get stuff, pretty much, right?"

The room was silent, but then, one of the men turned to his buddies and said, "You know, the little lady's got a point. That _is_ what the game's about." He shrugged, and held out the dice to Sakura. "It's easy! Throw two cubes! If they add up to have more dots than your opponent, you win!" He dropped the dice in Sakura's waiting hands. "Now…Test your luck!" He laughed.

Passerby freaked out when they saw Mokona, and went running for their lives when it introduced itself. Chunyan said to us, "They just love this game! Honestly!" She added, "The older men do, anyway." She directed her words at the group of men now. "Who is the person who threw the highest number?" She asked curiously, wanting to know if Sakura had a chance of winning.

One of the men raised his hand gleefully. "I did! I threw eleven!" _Big head._ I thought.

Chunyan gasped. "But that means the only way to win is to throw the highest number on the cube, two sixes!" She glared viciously at the men. "She's never done this before! What kind of game are you playing?!"

Sakura didn't seem to mind, and didn't get easily discouraged. She threw the dice, anyways. They teetered on their edges, and I was sure it was going to land on a two and a four, but that wasn't the case at all. At the last moment, they fell onto their sides, revealing two sixes. Everyone's jaws dropped, literally. Even Chunyan seemed impressed by Sakura's incredibly good fortune. One of the men got over his shock and laughed nervously, "I…I guess some people have the luck." He handed over the dice again. "Time for the next throw. Roll em, young lady."

Sakura shook the dice in her hands and threw them. They landed on two sixes again, and the whole group was gaping. I was sure that Chu'nyan was going to faint or something; her face was so pale. "Give me a break!" The man wailed sadly. He handed over baskets of steamed pork buns, with a forlorn expression on his face.

"Ehm…sir, may I try?" Fai asked? "I've never played this game before."

The man turned to him and said, "Yeah, go ahead. But I'm not betting anything." Fai turned to the group of men, who quickly scurried away.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well. I'll try it myself. It's better that way, because it won't matter whether I win or lose. I've got nothing _to_ lose!" He chuckled, and picked up the dice.

"Hey, we're going to go check out the rest of the town." Syaoran called, as Kurogane and Sakura were being dragged away from us. "We'll catch up to you later!" He ran off to follow Chu'nyan.

Fai shrugged his shoulders again, and rolled the dice around in his hands a little before throwing them onto the table. They landed on a three and a four. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Ah ha…I guess my luck isn't so good. Sakura must be really lucky." He noticed that I hadn't left with the others, and picked up the dice, holding them out to me. "Hey, Izumi-san, why don't you give it a whirl?" He asked.

I backed away, putting my hands up. "No way." I stated firmly. "There is no way that I'm going to try." _My luck is _terrible_! If I try It, I'll humiliate myself, and Fai will never let me live it down!_ I panicked.

I turned around to follow the group, but Fai grabbed my arm gently. "Hey…Come on, don't be afraid. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Nobody's betting anything. You might as well give it a shot." He saw the frightened expression on my face, the wild look in my eyes. "Here. The only way you're going to get over that fear is by trying, right? I mean, sure, maybe you'll roll a low number, but nobody's pressuring you." He offered the two dice again, begging me to try it, as if it was some kind of test to see how good my luck was. "Please?"

I thought about it. My attention switched back and forth from Fai to the dice. _If I do badly…_ I snatched the dice from his hand, much to his joy. "Fine. But I'm only doing it because you're _forcing_ me to." I teased him, and took a deep breath. I rolled the dice around in my hands, and threw them on the table. I was sweating from anticipation. _Come on…_ I thought. But my pleading didn't seem to help. The dice rolled onto two ones. "Darn." I muttered. "Just as I'd thought. Snake eyes."

Fai looked a little guilty, as if he didn't expect my luck to be _that_ bad. "Um…well…" He tried to think of something else to talk about. "Snake eyes, huh? That's what you call it in your world?" He asked me. "That's interesting."

Though the fact that he was only talking about this because he didn't want me to be embarrassed annoyed me, I responded anyways. "Yeah. It's not really what we Chinese people call it, though. Some Americans settled in China awhile ago, and some of their culture is there now." I sighed.

Fai and I went out in the town to search for the others. He kept on glancing in my direction, as If trying to make sure I was ok. I always gave him a reassuring smile when he did, but in truth, I was _not_ ok. I was pretty much as far from 'ok' as you can get. _Is my luck really that bad?_ I asked myself. _If it is… then does that mean that my magic wasn't what caused my bad luck? _I wondered. Another question to the pile of the unknown. I stored it away, and tried to ignore the thought, but it kept on popping up in my mind again. There was no way to deny the truth. I already had all the evidence I needed to prove that it was true. _I still have my magic._

* * *

_Psst...So what did you think? If it was confusing, everything will be cleared up later. Promise. Please review! No flames welcome, but constructive criticism is completely allowed. I probably won't be able to get the next chapter up, because I have to reread a lot of parts from the book to make sure I'm not overlapping stuff, but hey, I'm unpredictable, aren't I?_


	14. Unexpected Visitor

_Hi everyone! How's everyone doing? Yeah, I didn't get that much time to write this week...final exams. Ugh *shudders*. But now I'm back, and you guys can enjoy this chapter! Dedications for this edition: Numero uno goes to deathscythe24, for reviewing. I'd also like to dedicate it to Padme4000, for encouraging me and really making me feel a little better._

_So, this chapter may seem a little strange to you (I know it does to me), but overall, I think its pretty good. It picks up where we left off, but it has a twist, so its not going by the script. Just have fun reading it!_

_~Sakura_

**_Disclaimer: Alright, to be frank. Me no own Tsubasa. Me want to own Tsubasa. Me is hopeless. End of story. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective rightholders._**

* * *

Fai followed me around the town, this time having complete faith in me. I thought about my magic, and wondered how powerful it was, if it was still as powerful as it used to be… _My magic…it's not gone. So what's that supposed to mean? That Yuko lied? That she never met her end of the bargain?_ My mind was working so hard that it was hard to breathe. _And…what about my name? What did Yuko do with it?_ I felt tears on my cheeks, and I resented them, flinging them off my face with a bitterness that I rarely showed. Fai took note of my behavior, but decided to keep it quiet, which was probably a smart idea, because when I got mad, I got _mad._

My mind flashed back to the dreams I had had during the short time I traveled with the group. I remembered the one about my kudan, and the one about Fai, but those weren't of my greatest concern. The dreams that disturbed me most were the ones that were hardest to decipher—the one about the man and the woman talking, and the one about the girl who could see the past and the future. Neither of these two made any sense to me at all. But although I couldn't connect them to my past, I could connect them to each other: I was pretty sure that the man and the woman in the first dream were the same people as in the second dream. _Like that's going to help at all._ I scoffed. _But I must know them from somewhere; because their voices sounded so familiar…it's too bad I can't remember what they looked like._

I could see Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane, and Chunyan from across the square. They seemed to be unharmed, and actually having an enjoyable time. I smiled at the sight of them bonding so quickly, and was about to drag Fai to the other side of the square when suddenly, somebody let out a startled yelp. "Don't! Please!" Immediately, all of us—including the others—turned to face the commotion, and found a young maiden and an old man, kneeling on the floor at the feet of the man we had met the day before.

"Your store hasn't paid the Ryanban's tax money yet, hasn't it?" The man snarled. Yep. He was just as ugly and immature as I remembered him to be. I had to fight the urge to take my anger and frustration out on his ugly face.

"My father is old and sick!" The maiden cried desperately. "And a sick Haraboji needs his medicine!" Tears flowed from her eyes. "All I ask is for you to wait a little while longer!"

"No more waiting!" The Ryanban's son insisted. "You will pay all the taxes you owe in full _now!_"

"We can't!" The woman cried, hugging her father close to her. "You're charging twenty times what the old Ryanban charged!" She let out a muffled sob. "There's no way we can pay that!"

The Ryanban's son raised the whip in his hands, and I was about to rush forward and beat him up, but Fai held me back. His eyes told me to wait. The man yelled, "Then this old man of yours is going to feel a lot more of my whip! One hundred lashes!"

The two clutched to each other, bracing themselves for what was to come. Chunyan stepped forward and shouted, "Stop it!" But the blood-thirsty look in the Ryanban's son's eyes was still there. Sakura involuntarily slid in front of the old man and his daughter, willing to take any pain for them. When the whip lashed out, the three of them cringed in fear, and I found myself struggling against Fai's grip to help them.

But just as the whip was to meet their skin, it dropped to the ground, and we all looked to see the cause. Syaoran had jumped up and kicked the man in the face for the second time since our arrival. I giggled, and Fai wore an extremely amused expression on his face. The man tried to scramble away from Syaoran (particularly his foot), but didn't succeed. He pointed a trembling finger at Syaoran. "Y-you're the bastard from yesterday!" I rolled my eyes. _No duh! _The man's expression changed from one of fear and shock to one of rage. "Get out of my way!" He growled through gritted teeth.

Syaoran pushed his foot farther into the man's face. "I will not." He still seemed upset that the man had hurt his loved one. Speaking of which, Sakura was still sprawled in front of the old man and the young woman, so I left Fai's side to retrieve her. I held her hand gently as I led her to the side, and out of harm.

The man grumbled, obviously distraught. "Do you really want to know how terrifying the Ryanban of Ryonfi can be?!" He again tried to move away from Syaoran's foot, but backed into a crate.

That set Chu'nyan off. "You're not him! You're just his _son!"_ She snapped, grumbling, "And a stupid one at that!" I chortled behind Chu'nyan, and I could tell she was happy she could get me to laugh.

"Shut _up!_" Shouted the Ryanban's son, his face turning purple with hatred and rage. Just at that moment, Syaoran-kun leapt into the air, sensing an attack from the man. Sure enough, the stupid man pulled out his weapon of destruction: a…fan?

The fan was huge, and was a vibrant, dandelion yellow. It was delicate and beautiful, but there was something about it that made me shudder in fear. "I know that fan!" Chu'nyan exclaimed angrily. The man lifted the fan high above his head, and brought it down. The gust of wind that resulted was nothing compared to what came out of the fan—a fully armed, armored warrior, who held a blade, glinting in the sunlight.

"Go!" The man shouted, and the warrior bounded out of the fan, charging at Syaoran with his sword. Syaoran dodged the attack, but just barely made it out alive. I wanted to rush into the middle of the scene and stop the battle, but there was no possible way I could.

"He came out of that fan?" Sakura and I asked in unison, the tone in my voice being much more aggressive than the tone in hers. I looked at Chu'nyan, and saw that it was a topic she was not comfortable discussing.

"That was my omoni's fan!" She explained, her eyes boiling with fury when she saw that the man had her mother's fan. _If that fan belonged to her mother…_I backed away from the group, needing time to think. I knew that the group didn't need my help there, anyways. _If it did, then her mother must have been very powerful. Not many magicians get to use magical items such as those these days._

I turned my attention towards the sky, which was as bluer than I'd ever seen it. The birds chirped, and the trees swayed in a gentle breeze. So why did something feel so wrong? As I pondered the dark thought, the air suddenly froze. The warm draft was no longer light and cheerful; it had become a chilling isolation. The other villagers did not seem to notice the change in atmosphere. In fact, it could have been that there _was_ no change in the atmosphere at all, except that I knew there was something very wrong. And then I noticed: there was no sound. The birds no longer chirped happily, and the townsfolk no longer chatted away comfortably. I took a step back involuntarily, and bumped into a man behind me. I turned around, and was about to apologize, but never got around to it. The man who stood before me looked so familiar that I was sure I would burst if I couldn't figure out who he was. No, he wasn't the man in my dream, that was for sure, but still, I knew him from somewhere.

He grinned at me, revealing crooked, yellow teeth. His hair was short, and had a streak of grey in it, and he wore a monocle. I _knew _who he was. I just couldn't put my finger on it. "Er…I'm very sorry, sir." I kept on trying to remember who he was, ignoring the fact that there was still no noise, and that the air was frozen. I took a good look, but there was nothing. "Umm…do I…know you?" I asked. Without realizing what I was doing, I reached my hand out to him, as if to touch him to confirm his existence.

With the speed of a tiger, his hand snapped out from nowhere and snatched my wrist. It knocked the wind out of me, but that wasn't the biggest of my concerns. Now, the world was not only silent and still, but it seemed to disappear, turning black around me. Luckily, he had gotten my good hand. I struggled against his grip, but he was strong, and twisted my arm further. I let out a desperate cry for help, but the man said, "There is no point, my dear." I turned to him, and I fought the urge to reach out and slap him, but my arm was still in a bandage. I gave him a cold glare, but he only chuckled. "Child, nobody can hear you. Nobody else exists at the moment. It seems the surrounding environment has just…gone." He smiled maniacally again.

"You're wrong!" I shouted, tears spilling down my face now. "You couldn't be more wrong! They're all still here…" I tried to convince myself that it wasn't true, and that everyone was watching this man beat me up, even though I couldn't see them. But in my mind, I knew he was right. As long as he had me in his grip, I was powerless. I bit at his arm, but it almost seemed as though it were made out of iron. I gave up, and yelled instead. "What do you _want_ from me?!" I panicked.

"I want nothing from you, child. I am, instead, here to warn you." I blinked at him in disbelief. So there he was, randomly attacking me out of the blue, and now he was telling me that he was here to _warn _me?

"Why should I believe you?" I spat. I kicked at him, struggled to free myself, but again to no avail.

The man only sighed, and twisted my arm even more, making me yelp out in pain. I begged for him to let me go. He shook his head defiantly. "You should believe me, child, because if you don't, I shall end your friends' journey with the snap of a finger." I froze. I had no choice but to listen, even though I guessed that it wasn't really true. But I wasn't going to take my chances. I gave him a curt nod. He continued. "You, child, are in danger." He stated.

"From what?" I hissed disobediently.

"Yourself, child, yourself. Your past, at least. So I have come to take you out of your misery." He whispered. Before I had time to react, he snapped my good arm, and I cried out in pain and fell backwards. I hauled myself to my feet again. _Ok…so maybe I can't fight with my arms, but I still have my legs!_ I charged at the man, kicking him right in the face like Syaoran had done to the Ryanban's son. He stumbled backwards, but growled. "You shouldn't have done that, daughter of the dark!" His last remark caught me off guard, and I just stood there, but it wasn't the best time to be stunned.

A familiar-looking black dragon rose up from the ground, opening its mouth and releasing a mighty roar. I screamed, realizing that my former kudan would kill me. If my last trick didn't work, then I stood no chance against the dark magic-breathing beast. "W-Why?!" I called, feeling even more tears on my face. "I thought you were…different! I thought you trusted me!"

"_Ah…_" The dragon heaved a heavy sigh. _"That is where you are wrong, mistress._" I realized that it was still calling me 'mistress'. _"I trust nobody but my true master, and I am quite afraid it is not you." _

The dragon spread its bluish wings, and lunged at me with incredible speed and agility. Amazingly, I rolled out of the way before I was torn to shreds. Blood dripped down my cheeks, but I didn't let that bother me. I had a fifty-foot tall dragon to deal with. I jumped to my feet, and ducked right before the dragon's razor-sharp tail slashed at me. "Oh, come _on!"_ I screamed at the man, who wore an amused expression on his face. "At least make this battle fair!"

The man thought about it, and sighed. "Well, I suppose…I do enjoy a good fight…" He armed me with two swords. I recognized them as a katana and a wakizashi, swords that only skilled samurai used. _But…I've never handled a sword before! How can he expect me to use one that requires such skill? And on top of that, my arms are broken!_ I tried to ignore the pain, but it didn't really work, however, I didn't have much time to think, though, as the dragon charged at me, its mouth wide open. I shrieked and dove for the ground, trembling in fear.

The dragon was towering over me; I could just feel it. I knew it was going to attack sooner or later. It rammed into me, and I slid back a few feet. I sobbed, "Stop! I can't! I _can't!_ I'm not strong enough to fight you!" More tears.

The dragon laughed heartlessly. _"I do not feel pity for anyone. You shall die!"_ The dragon lunged for me, and I curled up into a ball on the floor, sobbing and praying it would be a painless death. I waited for the inevitable moment that the dragon would kill me. I felt a powerful explosion all around me, and I guessed that the dragon was beginning his attack.

I waited.

And I waited.

The moment never came. I looked up and rose to my feet. There, the dragon was lying on its back, clearly dying. On its chest was the mark of darkness, the same one it had given Kurogane. _Did I…did I do that?_ I walked up to it and climbed up onto its stomach with a little difficulty. The dragon saw what I was doing, and instantly, a look of fear crossed his face. _"Stop!"_ It begged, but I raised my katana, and stabbed the dragon's chest. It roared in pain, and the mark spread completely over his body, swallowing him, and he disappeared, melting away into the darkness.

"H-how?" Asked the man. I turned on him, ready to take him on. He took a step back. "It's true. Your powers have been re-activated." He turned away, and muttered to himself, "It's not possible…she said it couldn't be…"

My body was going haywire on me. I took a step forward and lifted my wakizashi, pressing the blade into his throat lightly, raising a single drop of blood. Only one. I was careful not to kill a valuable source of information. I spoke, half expecting my voice to be shaky, but instead, it was strong. "You have come to kill me. Explain yourself, fool." I was surprised to hear that the voice was not my own, it was different, as if some being was controlling me. The voice resonated with the deep sound of magic, making me sound somewhat scary.

The man only smiled. "There is no way that I can explain, child. All I can tell you is that you must be removed before you interfere with my plans." He took his hand and lowered the sword so that it no longer threatened him. With a poof, both of the swords disappeared. Suddenly, the pain in both of my broken arms returned, but I fought the want to pass out.

I spoke, without even fully understanding what I was saying. "You dared to return, Reed. If it is my power you are after, I am afraid you'll never get it. I will never forgive you for what you have done in the past, and I certainly won't forgive you for what is yet to come."

He nodded. "Very well, child. I can easily understand your standing point, but alas, the time has come for us to part. Farewell, child." And with that, he melted into the darkness, vanishing just as the dragon had done. The moment he was gone, the town of Ryonfi appeared around me again, and I crumpled to the floor in a broken heap. I saw Fai rush towards me, yelling for the others to follow, but my vision blurred and my eyes closed.

* * *

"_I'm so sorry about your brother." A girl looked down sadly. She addressed the man who stood before her._

_The man tilted his head in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Are you sure you're alright?" She nodded, and repeated her question firmly. The man thought for a moment, and said, "I think you need to see someone about your visions. They are getting less and less comprehensible. As you should know, I don't have a brother."_

_The girl swore under her breath. "Darn." She stomped her foot on the ground angrily._

"_What?"_

"_It's just…" The girl sighed. "The vision seemed so _real_. So real. You don't even know how vivid the details are. I was so sure it was your past, but it can't be, because you don't _have_ a brother." She clamped her hands over her hears. "I just don't get it! I…I _know_ the vision is true, but it's not about the past, and it can't be about the future."_

_The man gave her a long, pitiful look, as if he was powerless to help. "What…what exactly was your vision about this time?" He asked. "It's obviously troubling you. And it concerns me."_

_The girl turned away, ignoring his question. "Gee, I've already waited too long. I think it is time for me to get going. I have a long journey ahead of me."_

"_Wait." The girl turned around, and faced the man rather unwillingly. "You never told me…why you have to leave. It's the dead of winter, and it's cold. I'm concerned about your health. I just need to know why you're hiding so much from me these days." _

"_Look. I can't tell you much, but it regards my visions. There is something going on that is very strange. I've seen visions of a girl with black wings. I'm not sure if she's from this world, but at this point, there is only one person I can look to for help." The girl looked at him._

"_The dimension witch."_

"_Exactly." The girl sighed. "I don't want to leave, you know. It's not like I want to leave you. I just…you know…there's no way out of it. It's my fate. Destiny. Whatever other cheesy name you want to call it."_

"_But why do you have to go into the forest?" The man stared at her, pleading her for an answer. "At night? It's dangerous, you know. There's all kinds of wolves and bears and sna—"_

"_It's where my powers are strongest." She sighed. "Midnight…the time when the moon shines its brightest…that is when I can go. I fear that if I tried to leave now, I will be weak. I don't practice my ability often, you know."_

_The man held her hand in his, gazing into her eyes, willing her to stay. "You don't have to go, you know. You must understand how dangerous this might be for you."_

_The girl sighed sadly. "Of course I don't want to go! Of course I know the dangers and consequences of this! But I _have_ to! It's just…" She slipped her hand out from his. "I have to go, now. It's getting late, after all. It's a long walk." The girl turned around and began to walk away._

"_Takahashi, I want you to have this." The man with blond hair and stunning blue eyes grabbed the girl's hand. I recognized her as the girl who was in my last dream, though she looked maybe a few months older. She turned around cautiously, and from my perspective, I could tell she was crying. The man handed her a silver bow. "It's for…safety purposes. Use it only when it is absolutely needed, though." _

_The girl held the bow in her hands, and the tears stopped flowing as she admired the way it glinted in the light. "Oh, no, I couldn't possibly accept this…" She shook her head firmly, and held the bow out to the man. "It's not that I don't want it or anything…but…"_

"_Then take it." He pushed it back into her hands. "I want to know that you're safe at all times. This bow shoots with incredible accuracy, and it's never once failed me." He reached behind him, and pulled out a black quiver, filled with beautiful black arrows. "These arrows will always return to you, unless it hits an enemy. Be careful when you use it, though. When you shoot them, they always kill, whether the victim is an enemy or not. Use them sparingly."_

"_I…I…Sir, I can't!" She turned her head away, slipping her hand out from his grasp. "I can't accept weaponry from you! I'm an orphan! You've got royal blood! There is no logic in giving me this weapon!" The tears came back, and she began to run away, wiping her tears on her sleeve. She was fast, taking off into the woods at Godspeed. Her feet made a light tapping sound as she went, but though they touched the ground, it looked as though she flew on silver light. _

_The young man stared at the rejected bow and arrows he carried, and watched as the girl disappeared into the trees. A familiar look of sorrow sprung in his eyes, and he whispered hoarsely, "Good luck."_

_Good luck_

_Good luck_

_Good luck_

The man's voice echoed in my mind, and I knew I would never forget it.

* * *

_Remember, no flames or anything! Love you all, and remember to review!_

**Syaoran: Hey, look lady, I'm kinda unhappy about not being in this chapter. At all.**

_Me: Hey, you! Why are you out of character! Wait until its your turn!_

**_Sakura: Well, its true. As a matter of fact, I don't think I was in it, either._**

_Me: Look, I love the fact that you're trying to stand up for yourselves and everything, but you know, it would have been a little nicer if you had done so in the book. So just live with it._

**Fai: Who was the man in the dream?!**

_Me: You'll find out soon enough._

_Mokona: But Mokona wants to know, too!_

**Syaoran: Yeah, but just remember to include me in the next chapter. I don't personally care about the guy in the dream.**

_Me: Hey, why is Mokona the only one in character here? Syaoran, you've totally gone berzerk on me! Snap out of it!_

**Syaoran: Oh, I'm sorry! How about: I don't know about you, but I think the guy in the dream is the least of our worries. Our biggest concern is getting me back into the story. HAPPY?**

_Me: Uh...No._

Izumi: Ah ha...sorry I'm late everyone! What's up?

**_All: *sweatdrop*_**


	15. Moonstone

_Heya guys! Let's just get straight to the point on this one. We skip the dedications, ok? _

**_Disclaimer: Me: I wanna own Tsubasa!_**

**_CLAMP: It's ours! Back off!_**

**_Me: Fine...*grumbles*_**

* * *

_Ow! _I felt a sharp pain in my arm. Someone was tugging at it rather fiercely, and it burned. I turned my head to one side uncomfortably. The tugging stopped abruptly, and I opened my eyes. Chunyan was bandaging my good arm. _Wha…? Why my good arm?_ And then I remembered. My good arm wasn't so good anymore. Chunyan didn't let me bother her, and continued to wrap the bandage around my arm, and I yelped. She apologized hastily, and continued her work like a brainwashed robot.

"Chu'nyan?" I asked, reaching my hand out to her. I pulled it back, remembering what had happened the last time I tried to touch someone. Ouch. I didn't want that to happen again.

Chu'nyan looked up, and seemed startled, as if she had noticed my waking for the first time. "Oh! Sorry…I'm a little caught up in thoughts…" She sighed, and finished bandaging my arm. "I'm worried, you know. About your friends. I have a bad feeling about what they're doing." She asked me to lift my arm up so she could examine her handiwork.

"Why do you say that? What are they doing?" I asked. My heart thudded a little harder in my chest. "Where are they?" My voice cracked, and I stood up, looking around. "They're not here!"

"Uh…no, they're not. They left a while ago." Chu'nyan replied. "They went to the Ryanban's castle, and are looking for Sakura's feather or something." She folded her arms over her chest and pouted. "I wanted to go, too, but they wouldn't let me!"

"They have a point, you know." I put a hand on her shoulder gently. "It's not safe for you to go with them. It's dangerous." I shook my head. "I mean, I understand that now that I've been traveling with them for a while. It seems as though trouble always finds us."

Chu'nyan swiped my hand away, which left me rather surprised. She hadn't had a reaction like that before. "You don't understand! I need to avenge my omoni's death!" I gasped, putting two and two together. _I guess it never occurred to me why she stood up against the Ryanban's son all the time…maybe his dad killed her mom!_ I watched as tears streamed down her face in a steady flow. "I told them that, but they _still_ didn't let me go with them. It's not fair!"

I watched her in silence for a while, listening to her gentle sobs. I wanted to comfort her, but I had no idea how. I wasn't the type of person to really interact with others. Instead, I changed the subject. "Thanks for bandaging my arm. You did a great job, and I can't even feel the pain anymore!"

Her eyes widened, as if a monster were standing behind me. "Oh my gosh! I totally forgot about your arm! I was so caught up in my own problems that I forgot about yours!" She held my arm, as if trying to make sure it was ok, although I knew she was only trying to make up for her selfishness. "What _happened, _anyways? I didn't notice a thing!"

Dark, foreboding memories flooded to my mind. I debated whether to tell her or not. _Oh gosh, if she knew…she'd think I was trouble. Maybe she wouldn't want to be friends with me anymore._ "Oh…I got into a fight…sort of." It wasn't a lie, but I still felt bad. I saw the look of disappointment on her face, but she didn't press for a complete answer. I changed the topic again, to keep her from her suspicions. "Well," I said, standing up and dusting my jeans off, "I think I'm going to go look for them."

As I headed for the door, Chu'nyan stood up and ran after me, grabbing my arm. "Oh no! Please don't leave, too! Sakura and I need someone to talk to!" She begged me.

I smiled, and put my hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be fine, Chu'nyan. After all, you _do_ want to see the Ryanban gone, right?" I asked. She gave a gentle nod. "Good. I have the feeling that just Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai alone won't be enough to stop him. After all, he was the one who killed your mo—" I stopped myself before I could say it. "He was the one who caused all that damage to Ryonfi." I rephrased it.

Chu'nyan let go of my arm, and stared at her toes. "Yeah, I guess it's best if you go to keep an eye on them. But how are you going to get in? They used this magic device thing that helped them, and you don't have it."

"Oh, I think I'll find a way. Besides, if the magic device shut down the magic around the castle, then the magic should still be down. Maybe if I hurry, I can sneak in. Don't worry, Chu'nyan. I'm good at this kind of stuff." I winked at her before stepping outside. The night air was crisp and cool, and the air was fresh. I let my senses feast on the beautiful evening before waving goodbye to Chu'nyan and Sakura. Chu'nyan waved back half-heartedly.

I headed down the streets. The town of Ryonfi seemed a much more magical place at night than it did during the day. When I looked up, the stars seemed to twinkle brighter, and the crescent moon almost seemed to smile at me. The people seemed more magical, too. The starlight played across the bridges of their noses like freckles, and the moonlight danced in their eyes. The poor folk of Ryonfi could have been mistaken for kings and queens in that kind of lighting. I wondered what I looked like in the light.

I walked through the streets. Even though I was worlds away, the people here reminded me of the people at home. The way they turned their eyes bounced away from mine made me feel like I didn't belong. I held my breath as I passed the townsfolk, as if I would disappear by doing so. It didn't help at all, and the villagers' glares still drilled holes into my chest. When I decided I was far enough to evade the menacing stares, I let out my breath. It was so cold outside that I could see it.

Finally, I got there. I walked along a very long, stretched-out pathway. If you walked too far to either side, you would fall off and die. Fun. Note to self: don't go near the edge. I looked up at the building. It looked more like a prison cell than a castle, but it was huge. I strode up to the thick stone wall, and pressed my hands against it, feeling for any traces of magic. I squeaked in surprise—the stone was so cold. There were bits of magic zipping through the castle, but it wasn't strong enough to be a threat. I thought about ways to open the door, but it turned out I didn't need to, because it was already open a crack. _Must've been Syaoran, Fai, and Kuro-pin. They came through this way already._ I slipped inside, and felt a different kind of magic. Even though this magic was still strong, I could sense what its purpose was. It was an illusion; designed to trick people into walking down an endless hallway for pretty much the rest of their lives if they didn't break the spell. I knew better than to walk down the hall, because it would only confuse me more. Instead, I headed toward the source of all the magic: Sakura's feather. I closed my eyes, and followed the strong magic—and ran right into a wall.

_Ouch!_ I said, opening my eyes again and rubbing my head. Before me was a door, and sure enough, I could feel the strong power of the feather vibrating somewhere beyond it. It was still a while away, but this was where I had to go. _I wonder if they're in here… _As if to answer my question, I heard a shout from the other room. "My leg!" Hearing the pained sound of Syaoran's voice, I charged into the room, knocking down the door with my shoulder.

The first three things I noticed about the room were this: one, it seemed to be raining huge globs of liquid, and the room was flooded with the liquid. Two, huge columns stuck out of the water, and Fai and Kurogane stood on top of them. And three, there was a lady, watching from the comfort of her canopy bed, her abnormally long fingernails drumming the ground impatiently. I felt an extremely powerful form of magic, and took a defensive stance. Something about her magic made me dizzy. Syaoran was staring down at his leg, which seemed to be burned badly.

"The lake and my spheres are made from the same liquid." The strange woman spoke. "Of course, not everything your eye sees is as it appears." The more the woman spoke, the more I resented her. Every time I heard her shrill voice, I wanted to slice her in half.

Though he was far away from me, Kurogane's voice was loud. "You're telling me that if I fall in the lake, I'm gonna melt?" His voice was flooded with rage and hatred, and for the first time, I felt the same way he did. The woman only smiled slyly, but did not respond.

Fai had jumped on top of a wooden streetlamp, and seemed to be trying to break it. Fai's voice was not quite as fierce as Kurogane's, and I could only barely make out the words. "Kuro-min, break this for me." He pointed to the pole of the lamp.

"Huh? Why?"

Fai smiled. "We won't be able to avoid these spheres empty-handed forever!" He stated. _What's so bad about those spheres? And what did Kurogane mean when he said 'melt'?_

Kurogane caught on to Fai's plan, breaking a piece off for himself, and shouted, "Do it yourself!" Fai's perch was swaying slowly to one side, and he leapt off of it agilely. I could tell Kurogane wasn't planning to help out any further.

Before I had time to think, I shouted to Fai, "I'll break it!" I revealed my position to the enemy, but at that point, it didn't seem to matter, as long as I was helping my friends. _Friends…yeah, that's what they are. _

I charged forward, but stopped when Syaoran yelled out to me. "No! Izumi-san, don't! The water melts anything and everything it touches! Don't go in the water!" He warned me. I didn't need to be told twice. I stopped myself at the water's edge, trying to regain my balance before I fell in. _Great…_I mumbled under my breath angrily. _How am I supposed to break the pole if I can't get to it?_

Fai's eyes widened in shock when he saw me. "Izumi-san! Go back to Chu'nyan's place! It's too dangerous here!" Fai snapped the pole himself, and grinned as he said to Kurogane, "Now we can destroy the spheres without touching them!" He battled the balls of liquid as if they were any ordinary enemy, and I saw for the first time his true fighting ability. Though he was not as muscular as Kurogane, and not as quick as Syaoran, he had an ability to dodge and strike like I'd never seen before.

The woman with the long nails turned around and noticed me. "Ah…another little worm. And a female! Now _this_ should be interesting." She smiled, and raised her hands—_claws_—above her head, so that it looked like her nails were intertwined with each other. "Go on, little worm! Let us see how long it takes to kill you!" The water lapped the shore, getting closer to me each time it did. I had to keep on stepping back. When the liquid was nearly up to my toes, I flattened myself against the door. _The door!_ I tried to open it to escape, but it was no use. The woman's magic had sealed it shut. I glanced around the room desperately, looking for tools that would help me escape before I melted. I noticed a beam, jutting out of the wall, but it was too far away from me to reach. The water melted the tips of my shoes, so I had to stand on my toes. _Oh, god…_

"Izumi-san!" Fai noticed the situation I was in, and jumped off the pole, evading the water as best he could. He used the pole in his hand as sort of a cane, but it quickly melted to a stub, so he had to hop onto another column. "Jump!"

I didn't want to jump, because it was too far for me, but seeing as I could already feel my toenails melting, I jumped anyways. I pushed myself off the door, launching myself into the air, hoping it would give me an extra few feet. It did, luckily, and I grabbed the beam, and scrambled as best I could to get onto it. At last, I was sitting on top of it, breathing heavily from the effort. "I'm okay!" I declared. But now I had a new problem. The spheres were trying to attack me now, and I had to dodge every which way to avoid being turned into human lard. Eugh. Fai broke another piece off the pole, and tossed it to me. I reached out and caught it with one hand, and jumped out of the way of another falling sphere. I realized that I could have stayed on the beam if the water level wasn't rising, but it was, so I didn't have much of a choice but to jump onto one of the columns. "Ahh!" I shrieked as I scrambled onto a column, clinging to it for dear life.

Fai hopped from one column to another, and finally got to the one next to mine. He bent over and held out his hand, and I took it so I could get to my feet. "You alright? Watch out!" He said, as he popped the sphere of liquid that was about to land on my head.

"Yeah…I'm fine. Thanks for that." I mumbled, watching as Fai fended off a few more spheres. "Let me help with that." I offered, picking up my stick and popping a few. It was actually a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Aside from the fact that if I got hit with one of the spheres I would die, it was fun being able to release all of my emotional stress on the spheres. I was good at it, too, and popped three at a time. I threw my head back and laughed, and I didn't know how long ago I had last done that.

Fai saw that I was fine handling the spheres myself, so he hopped back towards Kurogane. As Kurogane popped the spheres, Fai shouted, "Weet-woo! Kuro-pin, you're amazing!"

"I told you to stop _saying_ the sound!" Kurogane seethed. I chuckled, but saw an abnormally large sphere coming right at me. I had to crawl down the side of the column and flatten myself against it, closing my eyes and praying that I would miraculously survive.

And I did. I scuttled back up the column just in time to overhear Fai-san telling Syaoran to go ahead without us. "But you'll die!" Syaoran insisted. He refused to leave without us, and I knew what a brave boy he was.

"Yeah…but numbers won't matter in this battle. Besides, you have some unfinished business to take care of." Fai winked at Syaoran, and told him that he would have to escape through the top of the room, where the magic was thinnest. I agreed, as I could feel the magic growing weaker as it went higher.

"Go, Syaoran. Save Sakura, and don't look back. We'll be fine." I nodded, waving him away. He smiled at me, and Kurogane lifted him onto his stick. With one massive amount of strength, Kurogane flung Syaoran high into the air, and we watched as he disappeared through the top. I nodded and smiled knowingly, and focused what was left of my energy on the current situation.

The woman looked slightly upset for a moment, but said, "You won't get out like you friend did." Her dark words sent chills down my spine, and I got a better grip on the stick in my hands, waiting for the moment she would kill us. She raised her claws again, and something about the way she did so made me feel like I had known her…

I ignored the thought, for immediately, all of the spheres popped at once. It began to rain the deadly liquid, and I knew were in a serious mess. I made my way over to Kurogane and Fai, knowing that I always felt a little safer when I was around them. I stood by them, cringing in pain each time a drop of the water fell on my skin. Fai looked around. "The water hurts, doesn't it?"

Kurogane grunted in agreement. "It melts everything. Clothes, skin…" I gulped at the thought. If the rain picked up, we would be skeletons in less than a minute. A sphere of water came at us, and Fai popped it, not realizing the consequences. I anticipated what would happen next, so I slid down the column, shutting my eyes as tight as I could. When I looked up, Kurogane had jumped out of the way, and used his stick to push Fai out of the way as well.

"Kuro-muu, you're mean!" Fai whined mockingly.

"If I didn't do that, you'd be melted by now." Kurogane reasoned with him.

"I see your point." Fai chuckled nervously. "But you could have done it in a nicer way."

The woman spoke, but I couldn't make out her words. She said something about boredom. Whatever. I did manage to hear what she said afterwards, though. "There was only one other person who lasted this long. A shinban from Ryonfi." The looked down, and I could see a little guilt on her face.

"That would be Chu'nyan's mom, right?" Fai asked. _How can he be so darn cheerful at a time like this?!_ I wondered. _We're about to die. I'm clinging to the side of a pole that may give way at any moment, and he's acting like it's no big deal. _

"She did mention a daughter of that name."

I heaved my way up to the top of the column once more. I looked at Fai and Kurogane, and saw their ragged clothing. Strangely enough, when I looked down at my own clothes, they weren't harmed at all. On top of that, my skin was not charred like Fai's and Kurogane's. I noticed that the scar left by Kuro-pin's sword was no longer visible, and I was bothered by the fact that nobody else seemed to notice any of this. Even though the water burned, it did not leave any blemishes on my skin or clothing. _Magic?_ I wondered.

The words that left the woman's mouth next left me speechless. "Perhaps what this country needs is not that stupid Ryanban an his son, but that shinban and you children." The woman looked down sadly. "Right now, I cannot leave this place. I cannot reason, and my spirit has been manipulated like a puppet. My own heart doesn't tell me what's right and what's wrong." The woman looked right at me, her glare making my legs weak. "Just like someone else in this room." My heart thudded madly and unevenly, like a chicken running around without its head. "But now… is the time we must part! Farewell, little worms!"

With a flourishing movement, the woman raised her arms above her head again, and a huge wave collected. It swelled in a dark bundle, and I knew that when it crashed down on us, we would die. If the melting water didn't kill us, the impact would. Kurogane grunted. "If we don't do something, we'll die."

Fai shook his head, grinning. "I'm afraid that won't work for me." He announced. Kurogane and I looked at him. "You see, I don't die very easily." Fai chuckled, and for once, I felt hope.

"Then why don't you use some of your magic to get us out of this?" Kurogane growled, eyeing Fai like a tiger eyes its prey.

"Nope. Sorry." Fai smiled.

Kurogane looked up at the massive wave that would soon swallow us. "Well, I don't wanna die, either." He said. _But I do._ I thought furiously. _Might as well get it over with._ But something was tugging at my gut, and I knew that I really _did_ want to live. I wanted to solve all the mysteries about my past, and about Fai's, too.

"Kurogane, Fai, I really don't want to die, either. But it's easier said than done, and the odds don't look like they're in our favor." I sighed. "But I _want_ to live." I shook my head angrily. "Even though I _say_ I don't want to, I know that I _have_ to live. If I die here, then…then…" I realized that I was crying. I wiped the tears away with my sleeve, and looked up at them.

The woman tapped her fingernails impatiently. "Are you finished with your final words?" She asked us. Her voice startled me, and I spun around to look at her. Then it hit me: we were going to die.

But apparently, Fai had other plans. He ran towards the woman, Kurogane hot on his tail. I was left behind, feeling the wind as they rushed by me. I stared down into the black water. _I will not die!_ I decided, and was about to follow them, when the worst possible thing happened. My foot slipped on the column.

And I fell.

The water rushed to greet me at a dizzying pace. It engulfed me, and I could feel it eating away at my skin. Fai saw me fall, and I heard him scream, "Izumi!" I willed him to forget about me, and to save himself. Surprisingly, the pain only lasted a few moments. It was a strong pain, and I curled up into a ball to ease it, but when it went away, I was left wondering what was going on. The water was clear, and once the pain was gone, gave me a cool, refreshing feeling. _That's weird…_ I thought, but decided it was best not to complain. I dove deeper under the water, and gasped. For there, shimmering in the lights from above, was a beautiful silver bow. I swam to the surface and took a deep breath, before plunging back into the depths of the water. I lifted the bow in my hand. It was cool and heavy, but it felt right in my hand. I knew that no other bow would suit me as well as this one. I kicked my legs, and maneuvered my way through the maze of columns. I spotted a black bag, and recognized it immediately as a quiver. I saw the arrows sticking out of the end, and pulled one out. It was the most intricate weapon ever imagined. The end had a dark stone, swirled with white. _Moonstone_. It came to my mind immediately, even though I had never seen moonstone before. The pointed tip was sharp enough to go through iron, and there was a deep blue gem on the very tip. _Sapphire_…It seemed to whisper to me.

I went through each of the arrows in the quiver. Each of them had a moonstone on the end, but had a different gemstone on the tip. There was one with an amethyst, a tourmaline, a peridot, one with a citrine, and there were more. But the one that attracted me most was the one with a black stone—one that I couldn't identify—on the tip. I put them all back into the quiver, and slung the strap over my shoulder, taking the bow and the arrows with me.

It was only when I broke the surface of the water that I realized how long I had been under. My lungs were about to burst, and each breath I took was very deep. I swam as quickly as I could to the shore, where the woman seemed to be…_kissing_ Kurogane. My ears were so filled with water that I couldn't hear what they were saying. I tapped the water out of my ears and approached the group. They all turned to face me, and the woman grinned. Fai stared at me, open-mouthed. Kurogane 'humphed'.

The woman turned back to Kurogane. "That stone you just broke…it contained the magic that kept me from my own will." The woman explained to Kurogane. I wondered what they were talking about. "Now I'm free. You children had a lot of spirit." The woman sighed. "You wanted to know where the Ryanban is, right? Those bastards are on the top floor of this castle." She nodded. "I guess your friend got there first. But they're going to resort to some cowardly trick, those misers."

"Arigato." The three of us said to the woman, and we headed out the door.

"Wait." The woman said. We all turned around. "You two, you may go. I must talk to your friend. Alone." The woman said to Fai and Kurogane. She waved her hand at them, dismissing them. They looked at each other doubtfully.

"I'll be fine, guys. Really." I assured them. They shrugged, and left. I turned to the woman. "Again, thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate what you d—"

"Child, you need not worry about that." The woman said, cutting me off. I looked at her curiously, and she continued. "You have come back, haven't you?" The woman asked me, a new look in her eyes. They were sort of sad, and happy, and worried, all at the same time.

I took a step away from her. "I-I don't know what you mean." I stuttered.

She sighed wistfully. "No. I suppose you wouldn't." She shook her head pitifully, but looked up, eyeing my new weapons. "You came to retrieve those, like you said you would. I was beginning to wonder when you would."

I looked down and saw what she was staring at. "Oh…these?" I asked. She nodded. "I just found them at the bottom…at the bottom of the lake. They were just there. You don't mind, do you?"

She laughed. I was light and cheerful, which came as a shock to me. "No, of course I wouldn't mind. They are rightfully yours. But you _did_ come back to get them and I know that for a fact." She smiled in a way that made me fidgety. "I know…because nobody else would have been able to retrieve those weapons. But I know they are yours, because you were able to make it out alive." The woman noticed the bewildered expression on my face. "Child, the lake was _created_ for the purpose of protecting those weapons. I created the lake upon request, but you would not know what I mean by that. The lake was made so that anyone who wished to steal the weapons would die."

"I…Wait. They're _mine?_ I really don't get that. Please tell me!" I begged.

The woman laughed again, and patted my head. "You have changed much since we last met. You were determined, strong, and brave. And your heart was kind—you thought only of the one you loved."

She had said so much in those three sentences, but the only thing I could say in response was, "You mean we've met before?"

"Only once, child. You came here on a quest—although what exactly that quest was I can't be certain—and you asked me to protect your weapons so you could one day retrieve them." The woman looked at the silver bow in my hand. "You said they would bring back memories."

"But they _don't!"_ I cried, wanting it all to make sense. I wanted to believe what she was telling me, but nothing fit together, and it was impossible to understand her words. "I can't remember a _thing!" _I threw myself into a fit.

The woman placed her hands on my shoulders, instantly calming me down. "Child, child…please. I cannot explain everything to you. I do not know of exactly what quest you were on. But there is someone who _does_ know. She will tell you." The woman looked at me, her dark eyes searching me for…something. Maybe she thought that I was joking around with her, or something like that. "That woman's name…it is Emeraude. She will help you further, although to what extent, I can't be certain."

"How do you know about this Emeraude? And where do I find her?"

The woman looked at me sadly. "You really don't remember anything at all, do you?" She asked. "You will meet lady Emeraude in the next world you go to. You yourself made sure of that."

I heard a thud coming from above. My mind still in a daze, I waved to her. "I think my friends are in trouble. I have to go." I left, and she smiled still shaking her head like I was a naughty child.

I found myself in a room with an abnormally large amount of people. There were so many that I thought they would make a hole in the ground. Kurogane and Fai were waiting outside the door, Mokona drilling them about how late they were. The moment it saw me, it said, "And _you!_ You were even later than them!"

"She had something to take care of." Fai explained, and that about shut Mokona up.

I looked into the room. The people were all townsfolk, and they seemed to be wondering what the heck was going on. I recognized the Ryanban and his son immediately, and I noticed Syaoran, Chu'nyan and Sakura there as well. "You killed her! You killed my omoni, who was trying to protect the town!" Chu'nyan screamed, enraged. Hot tear spilled down her cheeks. "Omoni said it before! No matter what kind of power you use, the life that is lost cannot be restored!" I felt a twang in my heart. I wanted to rush to her, to tell her that she would be okay, but there was no way I could guarantee anything of the sort. "No matter how much I miss her, I can't see her anymore!" The villagers looked down, sad for her. Chu'nyan looked up again, a new anger in her eyes. "But…how _dare_ you try to trick me!"

"Chu'nyan…" Syaoran said, turning his back to her. "Do you want revenge?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but he wasn't finished. "It might help you ease the pain, but this kind of person is not worthy enough for you to kill." At that moment, I realized how smart Syaoran really was. He knew not to kill unless absolutely necessary, and I respected him for that.

Suddenly, a familiar claw enclosed around the Ryanban's face. "This is the end." The woman said darkly. "How _dare_ you imprison me inside this castle." She turned to Syaoran. "Give him to me. I will treat him very nicely." The woman saw me peeking in the room from behind the door, and beckoned to me. Fai, Kurogane and I rushed forward. The woman pointed to my arrows. "The peridot." She winked.

"Of course." I said, and with a swift movement, set the arrow with the peridot on the tip in the notch of the bow. Though I had never used a bow and arrow before, the moment I released the arrow, it shot forward with amazing accuracy, and shot the Ryanban in the heart. He let out a wail in anguish before falling back, limp. The arrow seemed to evaporate.

Before the woman took the Ryanban and his son away, she turned to Chu'nyan. "Are you the one called Chu'nyan?" She asked.

"That's right!" Chu'nyan retorted angrily, realizing this as the woman who killed her mother.

"Your mother was a great shinban." The woman told her, ignoring the tone of disgust in Chu'nyan's voice. "Although she passed away when she fell into the trap set by this Ryanban, she told me she had learned a lot from this battle. She's looking forward to the day when you become a more powerful shinban than she was. Grow strong, so that one day you may rival me."

"I will!"

And with that, the woman was gone, and Syaoran had another feather. Sakura had regained some memories back in that day, and I had gotten some vital information. _But Emeraude…I wonder…have I met her before?_ The question swamped me as we walked back to Chu'nyan's house. _That woman...she said she knew me from before...is it possible...?_

**Syaoran: Psst! Just wanted to say thanks for putting me in this one! You're da bomb!**

_Me: You're welcome._

_Izumi: Hey! What the heck is up with the whole 'I've met these people before' theme? Ugh! So confusing!_

_Me: Now _you're_ acting up! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?_

_**Kurogane: Maybe you should stop being a pshycotic lunatic. Eh? How does that sound?**_

**Sakura: Yeah! You're weird! People think you're weird, and that's why they don't listen to you!**

_Me: Yeah, well, then, 'Sakura Sassy-pants'! Look who's talking!_

**Sakura: You are.**

_Me: Nuh-uh! You are!_

**Sakura: No, it's you.**

**_Fai: Can't you two just shut up already? You're embarassing yourselves over the INTERNET._**

_Me: Yeah? And who really cares about THAT? Nobody cares as long as they're on the internet._

**_Fai: I do. Duh._**

_Me: What is wrong with you retards?!_

_Izumi: There's nothing wrong with US. You're the one who'se making up this stupid conversation._

_Me: You're in this stupid conversation, stupid._

_Izumi: Well, as of now, I'm not._

_Me: Hey! You were supposed to say, "Oh, I am in this stupid conversation, but you are too, so you're the one who'se stupid."_

_Izumi:_

_Me: Come back here! Don't ignore me! Wait...what are you doing? AH! HELP!_

**_Fai: I believe she is dangling you above a pit of boiling lava._**

_Me: Is that even LEGAL?!_

**_Fai: I don't think so. But nobody cares as long as they're on the internet._**

_Me: Don't you mock me! Get over here and help me out!_

**_Kurogane: We'll all be over here. Where it's safe._**

_Me: (clears throat, speaks in 'best little girl in the world' voice) Well, you all don't need to worry. It's perfectly safe over here._

**_Kurogane: You're hanging by a rope. Over lava. _**

**_Fai: Let's just say that it's nowhere NEAR safe._**

**Mokona: Mokona is here! Ooh! Izumi is hanging on rope over lava! You guys are so mean!**

_Me: That's right! You hear that, guys? Mokona says you're mean!_

**Mokona: Mokona going to get scissors! **

_Me: Wait, what? NOOOO!_

_*snip*_

* * *


	16. The Impossible Becomes Possible

Hey everyone! Sorry for being a bit slow. My parents took my computer as a punishment, so I'm kinda sneaking on right now (but if you keep it quiet, nobody has to know). No dedications this time, but I would like thank Icequeen987. It's not really a dedication, because I already made a dedication to her, but I'd still like to thank her for giving me the website where I can get the dialogue for Tsubasa.

Okay, quick summary. Basically, things take an unexpected turn in the lake country. Izumi has another dream, and uncovers another piece to the puzzle. Please review? Pretty please? Oh, come on, I was, like dangled over lava last week. Not cool, ok? Show some sympathy, peoples!

**Disclaimer: Ok, so I've been through this before. I don't own Tsubasa or any of its characters but Izumi and possible other OCs. All rights belong to CLAMP and other respective right holders. Arigato Goshaimas!

* * *

**

She_ prowled through the woods like a tiger on a hunt. In her hands were two swords, a katana and a wakizashi. The blades were silver, with a bluish, marble-looking streak down the middle. Moonstone. She knew that these weapons would never fail her. Behind her lurked a man with blond hair that seemed white in the light of the moon and the stars, and blue eyes that looked like frozen water, reflecting all light. In his hand was a dagger, sharp and precise. Like the girl's weaponry, the dagger in his hand had a streak of moonstone, and it was invincible. He was sure of that, not to mention over-confident of its power. That was his weakness._

_The dream focused, and I saw in detail these strangers' clothing. The girl wore a white sweater, which seemed to glow in the lighting. She wore absolute black jeans, which seemed to blend into the dark forest around her. If it weren't for her sweater, nobody would have noticed she was there. Wound around her neck was a shimmering white scarf, which sparkled every time she made the slightest movement. The man wore a brown coat with a tie, and dark dress pants, which were tucked into black boots. _

_At last, the man shattered the silence. "Are you sure she's out here?" He asked the girl, his eyes glowing with anticipation. The girl looked up at him slowly, but turned away, putting her finger to her lips to signal him to be silent._

_It was a long while before the girl responded. When she spoke, her voice was very quiet and barely audible. "I'm sure. I saw her when we got to this world, and she made a break for the woods." The girl sighed, tossing her hair behind her ear. "She's here. I can feel her presence." Suddenly, she flattened herself against a tree, pulling the man with her and holding her breath. "Shh!"_

_A fox leaped out of the bushes, and she breathed. She looked a little disappointed, but didn't stop walking. The man looked at her, concerned. "Remind me again why we're here. Why we're looking for this woman." He said, stopping in his tracks and forcing the girl to turn around and face him. "You could very well be having inaccurate visions. Maybe we're doing all of this for nothing."_

_The girl's eyes were narrowed. She seethed, "Don't say that! We've already made it this far, and I _know_ that this is what I have to do!" She took a step towards the man, who unknowingly took a step back. "I know that maybe you're a little upset that I gave your bow and arrows to that daemon back at Ryonfi, but she's the only person I can trust. Just like the woman we're looking for here is the only one I can trust with this." The girl tugged on the scarf around her neck, and the man watched as it unwound slowly, like a snake uncoiling. She pulled the scarf off, and held it up in the light. It looked like the moonstone on the blades. _

_The man shook his head defiantly. "But how do you _know_ that we have to give it to this particular woman? How?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "How?" He repeated, his eyes wild. _

_The girl only removed his hands from her shoulders and remained silent. She walked ahead, and when she spoke, there was a hint of anger, of fear, in her voice. "I know because of my visions! She's a ghost, and I will meet her again. When I do, I will retrieve the scarf, and that's all! Just like what we did in Ryonfi." The girl said confidently. _

_The man still did not wish to believe her. "But then, if the woman is a ghost, how will we see her?" He asked. He hurried to catch up to her, but she ran ahead before he could reach her._

_The girl called back. "You may not be able to, but _I_ will." The girl treaded through the fallen leaves, her lips tinged purple from the cold. "Because I already saw her. I will be able to see her again." _

_The man decided to give into this, but he still had more questions. He caught up to her eventually, holding her arm as if afraid she would run away again. The girl tried to claw at his grip, but it was no use. The man spoke coldly. "Ghosts don't exist unless their task is not fulfilled. In other words, their spirits rest in peace unless they have something important—life saving important—to do. So why does this ghost still exist?"_

_The girl looked at him, as if to say, 'How can you _not_ know?'. She spoke, her voice even icier than his was. "_Because._ Her task is not yet fulfilled. She cannot rest until we give her the scarf and she does what is asked of it. That's why!" The girl's voice climbed higher and higher with each word, resulting in a shriek at the end. The man calmed her down by putting his hands on her arms._

_He shushed her. "It's alright. I'm sorry—I guess I'm still relieved that I could come with you here. That I could know you're safe." He sighed, and hugged her, breathing in the scent of her hair._

_The girl mumbled into his chest. "Yeah? Well you sure have a funny way of showing it." The both chuckled, and the man sighed, hugging her tighter. They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity._

_A ghostly pale flash flew by them, and they let go of each other. The flash stopped before them, seeming to materialize before their eyes, and they could see that it was a beautiful young woman with glimmering, golden locks. Her skin was impossibly white, and translucent, and she wore a silver circlet in her hair. The woman reached out to touch the girl's cheek, but her hand went through it. The woman drew her hand back to her side, and spoke in a soft voice, like the wind. "Who are you? And why have you come?" Her voice was not threatening, but it trembled as she spoke, as though she was afraid of them._

_The girl stepped forward. "Lady Emeraude, we are travelers, come to ask of you a favor." She bowed, holding out the scarf woven from moonlight. "We need for you keep this."_

_The woman stared at them, her ghostly eyes searching for any sign of trickery. At last, she sighed. "May I ask why you need me to do this?" She asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. _

_The man and the girl exchanged nervous looks. Both were unwilling to tell her the truth, but obliged, as it was their only way out. The girl gave a simple explanation. "Feathers." She said. The woman looked at her as if she was crazy. The girl noticed this, and rephrased her word. "What I mean by that is, something terrible will happen, and our lives now will never have existed. Not in the same way, at least." She said, pausing before going on. "Instead, our lives will be very different from the way they are now, and we will not remember anything that has happened. But you will." The girl watched as the woman's expression became one of utter confusion. "In the other life, you will find a feather. Your job will be to return that feather to its original owner: the princess of Clow, named Sakura. I will be there when she is, because we were destined to travel together. When you give her the feather, I ask of you to return this to me." She held out the scarf._

_The woman stared into the girl's eyes, her expression cold and frozen. But she saw something in the girl's eyes, and her mood changed. Her expression softened, and she whispered, "I believe you." With that, the ghost took the scarf from the girl. "But how should I give it to you? If what you say is true, then you will not remember any of this, correct? If your lives will change, then the scarf will disappear."_

_A smile graced the man's lips. "You're smart." He said. "Very smart. But we thought of that already. She—" The man pointed to the girl beside him "—charmed the scarf, and so it will last even when the worlds change." The man looked down, scared. "I think she forgot to mention that right now, we are living the life that _could_ have been. It worries me."_

_The girl nodded. "Yes. When the time comes, we will no longer be living this life, the life that could have been, but we will be living the life that _is." _The girl looked away. "And when that happens, this life will never have existed."_

"_Assuming we never meet in your other life…what will you do then?" The woman asked. _

"_We _will_ meet. I have visions that tell me the future, and the past. That is how I know where to find you, and what world you are in." The girl watched as Emeraude nodded. "If I am correct, I will still have the visions even in my other life. That may bring me to remember."_

_The woman nodded. "As I said, I have total trust in your words. I will keep this scarf." The woman held the scarf in her hands. "Please return, so I can rest." The woman said, before fading away into the dark._

_The man looked at the girl. "You know, she may be right. Maybe…maybe we won't ever meet her again. I'll leave something else behind, just in case." The man looked at the dagger in his hand. The moonstone glinted in the light. "This should do." He said. Though he seemed reluctant to give up his weapon, he plunged the dagger into the heart of a tree. "Should we ever come across this clearing again, we will find this dagger." He told the girl._

"_Yes…" She sighed, and leaned against a nearby tree. The man was shocked to find tears on her face. She crumpled to the ground, head in hands, and he rushed to her side._

"_What's wrong? What happened?" He asked, his voice edged with anger._

_The girl looked away from him, shaking her head violently. She continued to sob. "It's…It's just that I don't understand any of this! How can it really be true?" She sniffed, wiping tears away. "I mean, the life we know…it won't exist! How is that possible?" She cried leaning against the trunk of the tree for extra support. "Why does it have to be that way?"_

_The man kneeled beside her, putting his arm around her. "Like I said before, maybe you're just over thinking this a little. Maybe none of this is true." He tried to comfort her, but in his voice, there were traces of uncertainty. "Why are you suddenly so concerned about this all?" He asked, his own eyes glinting with tears."_

"_Because!" She shouted back. "Because…" Her voice was weaker now, fading away like the note at the end of a song. Suddenly, she looked up, a new ferocity in her voice. Her liquid-amber colored eyes seemed to swim in circles in the light as she spoke. "Because what if we're not the same as we are now? What if we weren't friends? What if we never loved each other?" She cried._

_The man understood now, and hugged her. He closed his eyes as tightly as he possibly could, feeling her pain. Tears welled in his eyes as realization came to light. "We'll find a way." He whispered, and buried his face in her hair.

* * *

_My eyes fluttered open, and I bolted upright in a cold sweat. "Fai!" I gasped, my breathing rough. I looked around desperately, searching for the man I was sure was in my dreams. "Fai!" I called again. Kurogane, who sat cross-legged beside a fire, shifted his position so that he was closer to me. "Kurogane, where's Fai?" I asked worriedly, noticing that Syaoran and Fai were not anywhere in sight. Sakura turned over in her sleep, mumbling something like, "Why wasn't anyone there?"

Kurogane gently pressed me back down to the ground. "He's over by the lake. Making sure Syaoran is okay." Kurogane replied. His answers were always too short for me. "Go back to sleep. Strict orders from your Prince Consort over there." Kurogane sniggered, the corners of his mouth turning into a smile. A genuine one, not just a mocking smirk. His dark eyes laughed with him, and I realized that it was the first time I had ever seen him laugh. He noticed I was watching him, so he cleared his throat and stopped laughing. "What?" He asked.

I realized I was staring, and turned away, blushing. "Nothing." I said, turning my head slowly to face him once more. "It's just that…well…I've never seen you smile, let alone laugh." I said, embarrassed. "You have a nice smile. You just never show it." I said, sitting up again. "You should more often."

Kurogane clamped his hand over his mouth, mortified. "Well, just because I don't smile much doesn't mean I _can't._" He growled. Same old Kurogane. His words came out muffled because of his hand. "You wouldn't smile so much, either, if you went through what I did." He said, looking away. The look in his eyes reminded me of the one in Fai's—sad and cold. For the first time I noticed this. I realized that every time I looked at him, I thought of him as an emotionless rock. But one look into his eyes told me I was wrong.

I noticed something on his hand. A scar that seemed to be healing from some sort of puncture wound. "Kurogane…what happened?" I asked, reaching out to touch it. He snapped it away, not letting me see it. "I'm…I'm really sorry. It's just that I've never noticed it before." I felt guilty for ever bringing it up. "I'm really sorry." I said again.

"No." Kurogane breathed. He showed me his hand again. I took it, and traced every single mark along it. "You deserve to know. I…I guess it's because we'll be stuck with each other for a while. If I don't tell you now, then I'd still have to tell you later, anyways." He said. The scar was terrible. It had obviously marked him for years, but it had never completely healed. Kurogane turned his head. "It will never heal."

I stared at it, and I instantly felt sorry. It had never occurred to me why Kurogane was always so grouchy, but I got the feeling that it was because of something that happened in his past. "You don't have to tell me. It's serious. Kurogane, if you told me, I'd feel obliged to tell you something about myself. And I understand how much it hurts to share something like that." I said. I closed my eyes and concentrated on his chi. "You've lived a very difficult life, Kurogane. You lost many dear to you, and you make up for that by shielding yourself from others." I paused. "But you have hope. A very strong hope that you picked up the day you went to the witch's place. And…" I smiled, shaking my head. "Though you'd never admit it, you're happy you were sent away. But that doesn't mean you don't miss someone there." I opened my eyes and squeezed his hand. "You miss someone, don't you?"

Kurogane stared at me, dumbstruck. "How did you know all that?" He asked, but, realizing what he said, he blushed. "I…I mean…not about the missing someone part, but about everything else." His eyes darted around like a rabbit.

I threw my head back and laughed. "Oh, come on Kurogane, you _know _you miss someone." I smiled. "But you don't have to talk about that. Alright, if you really want to know, I just felt your pulse and found your chi. It's a Chinese custom." I said, laughing again.

Kurogane was blushing furiously now, something I never though he could do. "Y…you have a nice smile, too." He stuttered. "It's dazzling." He mumbled, looking away. "Really."

The mood changed completely. I stiffened, not really expecting it, and not really wanting it. _Oh, god…this is _not_ right. No, no, _no! I smiled half-heartedly at Kurogane, but the smile didn't last long. I took his hand again, and said in a choked whisper, "K-kurogane…"

Kurogane pulled his hand away, knowing what was coming. He sighed, looking down, and I _wanted_ to comfort him, I _wanted_ to tell him I loved him, but I couldn't, because I knew I would never mean it. Instead, I sat there, frozen. "I know." He said. "And I understand completely. You love Fai, and there's nothing I can do about that."

I jumped back. "W-wha? Where the heck did you get that?!" I yelled.

Kurogane laughed again, and I found myself laughing with him. He looked at me, and shook his head. "It's true, isn't it? You _do_ love him. You can't deny it." He said. "Maybe you don't really know it now, but it'll turn out. I know it will." Kurogane laughed again, but this laugh was a little sad. "I…it's just that you remind me of Tomoyo. You _really _remind me of her." He saw the look in my eyes. "But it's not like you look the same, or anything. It's just that your personalities are similar. And you smile just like she does."

"Uh… Thanks?"

He shook his head, smiling again. "Honestly, Izumi-san, I like you. We should talk more." He said, before standing up. I felt as though I discovered a new side of Kurogane. For the few minutes we talked, he seemed _so_ out of character. _But what if that's who he really is, and he's just playing a part?_ I wondered. Kurogane spotted something. "I think they're back." He was right. Syaoran and Fai sat down beside us.

Suddenly, Sakura jumped up. "Syaoran!" She shouted, running as fast as she could. "Syaoran's still in the lake!" I chuckled. I probably should have told her that Syaoran was actually right next to her, but…oops, I forgot (plus it was a lot funnier without telling her). Syaoran leapt to his feet and ran after her, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. Fai and I burst out laughing.

When everyone was around the fire, Fai turned to me. "Oh! Izumi-san, I believe these belong to you." He held out the silver bow and the black arrows. I stiffened. I was sure of it now: the _were_ the ones in my dream. I took them, and slung the quiver over my shoulder. Fai looked at them suspiciously. "Where did you get those?"

I was surprised that I never told them, but I got over the shock. It was true that I never had the time to. "I found it at the bottom of the lake. They were just lying there for me to take." I said. "I don't even know why the water didn't kill me…"

Fai's eyes widened. "Right! What happened, anyways? I know you fell, and I really thought you were dead. But you're not." He looked at me with a look of relief, and added, "But didn't it hurt at all?" He asked, taking my hand in his. I barely noticed the contact; I was so dazed.

I shook my head. "Not at all. Oh! And…" I looked at the group, and decided it wasn't best to tell them all about the dream. "Can we talk somewhere? Alone? There's something important I need to tell you." I whispered. "Something…about these weapons." I said, standing up. Syaoran and Sakura looked at me, but Kurogane just sat quietly. He was back to being his own self. Fai nodded. I turned to the group. "Fai and I need to talk. Could you excuse us for a moment?" I asked.

"Of course." Syaoran said, and Sakura nodded beside him. Kurogane rolled his eyes angrily, but I tried to ignore the small movement. I dragged Fai into the woods.

"Izumi-san, what is it?" Fai asked me, sensing the awkwardness of it all. "It regards the bow and arrows, right?" I nodded. I stared at him. In the moonlight, I saw that his blond hair that seemed white in the light of the moon and the stars, and blue eyes that looked like frozen water, reflecting all light. He was the man in my dream. There was no doubt. The only difference was his clothing, and that his blue eyes seemed softer somehow, not as cold and hard as the man in my dream's.

I realized that I was trembling, and Fai must have noticed too, because he put his coat over my shoulders. My trembling continued despite the newly found warmth. It must have been because of the anxiety caused by my latest discovery. I looked up at Fai, and gasped. The moon had risen above the mountaintops now, illuminating everything. Fai's eyes were a mystic gray, and specks of blue dotted them. His hair was so blond it was almost white, and I could see the light making it look silvery. He _was_ the man in my dream. He _was._ I spoke. "D-do these look familiar to you? At all?" I asked, holding out the intricately carved bow and the black-as-night arrows.

Fai took the weapons, turning them over in his hands over and over again. "They're beautiful…but…" He sighed, handing them back to me. "I've never seen them before you found them."

_I knew that would be his reaction._ I looked down, nervous, groping for the right words to say. "Maybe…" I looked at him, trying to remember the words in my dream. "Maybe these words would ring a bell. You once said, 'Right now, we are living the life that could have been. It worries me.'" I winced, hoping I got the words right. "Do they mean anything to you?"

Fai seemed deep in thought. "I…No, I don't think I have ever heard those words b—" Suddenly, a look of horror settle on his face. A look of fear, of sadness, but mostly of realization. His eyes widened, and he spoke, his voice quaking. "I…I _did_ say that once!" He exclaimed. "I mean, I don't know where I did, or when…not recently, I don't believe." He said softly, looking down at me. "I may be crazy, but it seems to me that I said that in a past _life_ or something."

I jumped up, excitement coursing through my veins. I remembered the words he had said in my dream about him and the real Fai, _'You're here, and you know. Help me Izumi.' _This was my first step for helping him. I grabbed his hand, and pulled him around in a circle, like a dance. "That's because it _was_ in a past life, Fai! It really was! A life that could have been, as you said!" I said, jubilated. "Right now, we're living the life that _is,_ but when you said that, you were living the life that _almost_ was, before the _incident_ happened."

Fai blinked at the word, 'incident'. "You lost me there. What incident?" He asked me. "What are you talking about, Izumi? I mean, I remember saying that, but I don't understand!"

I pulled us to a stop and looked down. "It was an incident…something caused the worlds to forged everything that happened in that life, as if time was spun back…" I said, releasing his hands and staring at the moon. "It was a terrible incident, and it caused many lives to be altered forever." I spun back towards him. "Don't you understand? You _did_ say those words!"

Fai looked at the ground, as if concentrating on a little pebble or something. He seemed so focused on the damp floor. He looked up, a look of utter shock and embezzlement in his eyes. "Y-you're right." He stated tersely. "You're right!" He laughed, pulling me around like I had done to him. "I _did_ say that! I was on a quest to deliver items to certain people in certain worlds! And _you _were there, too!"

I froze, causing him to stumble and let go of my hands. My mind raced so hard that one could almost _hear_ the gears turning. My heart slammed against my chest, and I was afraid it would puncture a hole through it. My vision fogged up, and my hearing ability seemed to fade. I stumbled forward into his arms, and he staggered under my weight. He lifted me up, and let me rest my head on his shoulder. Nothing had ever felt so warm and nice. My mind was spinning to a halt, and I finally came to a conclusion.

I was the girl with auburn hair and amber eyes.

* * *

_Me: Ouch. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow._

_**Fai: Still hurt cause of the lava?**_

_Me: Uh...YEAH! DUH!_

_**Fai: Sheesh. Don't need to get all huffy.**_

_Me: Sakura and Izumi! GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!_

_**Sakura: Yeah, yeah.**_

_Izumi: What do you want?_

_Me: I want a formal apology._

**Kurogane: Ha! And what makes you think you deserve one? Where'd you get THAT crazy idea?**

_Me: Uh...from the fact that I was dumped into a pot of boiling lava. But maybe you're right. Maybe I DON'T deserve to get an apology._

**Kurogane: NOW we're seeing eye-to-eye.**

_Me: ARE YOU A MADMAN? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? OF COURSE I DESERVE AN APOLOGY!!!!_

_Izumi: Backing away slowly...very slowly..._

_**Sakura: I'm with ya, sista! She complains so much!**_

_**Fai: Hey, are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?**_

_Izumi: Frankly, no._

_**Fai: (rolls eyes) I MEAN, since she hurts so much from the lava, maybe we should do something to cool her down a bit (winks at Sakura).**_

_Me: Ooh! Yeah, an icepack sounds pretty good right now._

**Kurogane: Oh! I get what you're saying, Fai. Come on, everybody! Let's huddle up! Not, you, author lady.**

_Me: *grumbles* Fine._

_**Fai: *whisper whisper whisper***_

**Kurogane: (nods) *whisper***

**_Sakura: *whisper*_**

_Izumi: Yeah!_

_FAI, KUROGANE, AND SAKURA: SHH!!!_

_**Sakura: We're ready! We just need to phone Mokona up real quick. (dials phone) Hey, Mokona! What's shakin? Yeah? Well, we need you to stop by real quick.**_

_**Fai: I'll just set things up (backs away slowly, making sure nobody sees).**_

_Me: You do that, Fai._

**Mokona: I'm He-ere!**

_Me: Oh, great. I'm bouncing with joy._

_**Fai: Mokona, here's what you need to do. *whisper whisper***_

**Mokona: Alright! Author lady, just stand right on the red X, and relax. Nothing bad's going to happen, I mean, it's not like we're going to try to kill you or anything.**

**_Sakura: (elbows Mokona) Nope! Nothing at all. Just reeeelaaax!_**

_Me: Okee dokee!_

_**Fai: Mokona, just do exactly what you did last time, ok?**_

**Mokona: OK! (skips over to rope dangling from ceiling)**

***snip***

_Me: Hey, I don't like that sound. Remember what happened the last time I heard it? Wait, what are you doing? No! AHHHH!_

**Kurogane: That was a brilliant plan, Fai.**

**_Sakura: I know! Genius! I love the part when the snow falls on top of her. Speaking of which, do you think she's dead yet?_**

_Me: AUGH! GET ME OUT OF THIS DEATHTRAP!!!_

_**ALL: NOPE.**  
_


End file.
